Let Me Go
by Neko Trezzy LoveHearts
Summary: In order to save what he had left, Syo made a difficult decision. To take his place as a prisoner of Prince Ai Mikaze. Can our cute little blond use his music and love to save the Prince before he lost to his curse? Yaoi Warning. Rating may Change to M.
1. Chapter 1

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter One: The Prince's Curse**

"Prince Ai, Please! Spare me! Please!"

In the throne sat Prince Ai Mikaze. He was an handsome young man with cyan-colored hair and eyes to match. His eyes were dull as he gave a swift motion of his hand only meaning one thing. "Kill him."

"No! Please!" The man begged as the guards dragged him out the throne towards the execution chamber.

Beside the prince, was his two servants. The butler, Reiji, sighed as he saw the man being taken out by force and glanced at Ai with a sympathetic expression. "Ai-Ai, must you kill him? I mean it was only a small mistake. Anyone could have forgotten to load a single stack of cotton."

"Nevertheless, I don't tolerate mistakes." Ai returned coldly. "If I had let that slide then he would had surely done it again. I have a low tolerance to these types of things. You know this, Reiji."

"That's true but-"

"Will you stop arguing with his highness, Reiji?" Interrupted the Steward, Ranmaru, while listening to Reiji question the prince's order. He was the most serious out the two. "All we be as the prince declares. There is no other way."

The browned-haired butler pouted. "Always so mean, Ran-Ran."

"I am merely trying uphold the honor of my Prince. As you should be trying to do." Ranmaru returned crossing his arms looking at Ai. "Now, my prince, if you are ready, Mrs. Nanami has prepared dinner for you."

"Fine." He agreed before standing up and walking. Ranmaru and Reiji trailed right behind him. As they walked, Reiji looked out the large windows. Storm clouds were rolling in as the seconds passed and by the looks, it was going to be a nasty one indeed. It was very large castle so they were no way in harm of it.

Ranmaru opened the door for Ai as they approached the dining hall. He simply walked silently and took his normal seat at the end. Reiji closed and the door sighed a bit looking around. The door which led to the kitchen and the orange-haired maid came running in with his tray of special made food. Behind her, was a small child carrying wine and glass.

She looked back to him. "Be very careful, Natsuki. I don't want you to drop it." She told him while sitting the food in front of the prince.

"Okay, Auntie." He replied before attempting to put the bottle besides Ai, failing because he was too little. Ai rested his elbow on the chair's arms making a fist and leaning his head against it in boredom while watching the small boy's efforts, not moving an inch to help him.

Natsuki tried to again and saw that this time he made it, though it was a little higher than before. Turning around, he saw that Reiji had gave him a little boost up. He gave a toothy grin. "Thanks, Rei-Chan."

He winked back as the response putting him down and Natsuki scurried back over to his Auntie who was looking out a window as Ai began to eat silently. "Oh my, it looks like it's going to a terrible storm tonight." She commented.

"I noticed that. Hopefully no one is dumb enough to be outside when it hits." Ranmaru said before glancing at Natsuki. "Otherwise, the lightning might come and just get you." He said in a spooky voice with an evil smirk.

The small child hid behind his Auntie's dress holding on to her waist. "That won't happen will it, Auntie?" He asked scared by what Ranmaru had told him.

She shook her head. "No, Natsuki. Mr. Ranmaru was just joking around."

He continued to smirk at him. "Or...Mrs. Nanami might just be lying to her sweet little nephew so he won't be scared when it comes."

"Knock it off, Ran-Ran." Reiji told him before looking at the maid. "Sorry, Haruka."

"It's alright." She looked again at Natsuki before picking him. "Now, listen to me. The lightning can't get you because you are inside and safe with me. Okay?"

"Okay!"

It wasn't long after before Ai finished and stood up. "I'm going to watch that execution. Ranmaru, Reiji, let's go." He began walking again. Reiji opened the door for him this time, mentally sighing. How the prince could watch those was beyond him.  
The loud lighting crashed outside along with the roaring thunder that followed. The rain hit against windows almost as if someone were throwing pebbles. It was plain to see that it was a very strong wind being as there were leaves flying all around and the trees swaying from one side to the next.

While Ai payed no heed to what was going on seeing how it didn't concern him in the first place, Reiji noticed and it made him a little alarmed. There were a lot of sellers and merchants in the kingdom for a festival that coming up late in the week and most of them had no shelter. "I hope they make it out okay.." He muttered.

The two-colored eyed Steward heard him and raised an eyebrow. "Just who are you referring too, Reiji?"

"I'm taking all those people who don't have protection from the storm tonight." He looked at him with almost sad expression. "They might get a very dangerous disease or might even die if they're are stuck in it.

"That shouldn't concern you." Ai cut in with emotionless tone. "It's their problem not ours."

Reiji frowned. "Ai-Ai..."

"And I'm positive that I already told you to not call me that." Ai added turning around to glare at him. His cyan eyes pierced daggers into him."Childhood friends or not, I am your Prince. You shall respect me as so or shall be punished. Understand?"

He nodded sadly keeping his frown. "Yes, your majesty."

When they walked by the main door to the castle there was a large knock at it. The 2 servants stopped and stared at it. "Who could that be a this most unreasonable hour?" Ranmaru said in a surprised tone.

"And with this storm too?" Added Reiji, just as surprised as he was.

Ai rolled his eyes. "Honestly...Just open the damn door and see who it is. I don't have time to listen to the both of you ask questions about who could be. I'd like to see that execution when it happens." His voice sounded very annoyed.

"Yes, Sire." Ranmaru bowed before going and opening the door part way. In the doorway, was an old woman who wore a dark black cloak with an hood. She had wrinkles in every corner of her face and her dark red eyes were two completely different shapes. She was soaked and it made her appearance even less unattractive. He made a face. "Can I help you?"

"As you can see, Sir. I have unfortunately been caught in this horrible storm. I am old and my home is far from here. Might I please trouble you for a room for tonight?" She asked.

Still very troubled by her appearance, the steward about to turn her down cold when Reiji popped up. He gasped. "Oh no, you poor thing. Please come in." He led her inside earning a glare from Ranmaru.

Once inside, he shut the door and sighed walking after him. "The prince is not going to like this." He thought while following Reiji and the old woman.  
Ai turned to them. "Well?" He saw the old woman and raised an eyebrow. "And just who is this?"

"Um...My Prince, this old woman was caught in the storm and was hoping for a place to stay for tonight." Reiji explained briefly while Ai examined her appearance.

"In exchange for the night, Might I offer your highness this." Her hand had been hidden under the cloak came out revealing not only her gaunt fingers and arm but a bright blue rose that despite being rained on, looked fresh picked.

The cyan-haired prince analyzed the flower before back at the hideous old woman with a snarl. "And just why would I accept such a dull gift in exchange for a night at my castle? I could have a thousands others grown just like it. What so special about this one?"

She held up a warning finger. "Ah but I digress, don't look at just the flower for more shall be known once you see past it's colored petals. It is indeed a very sweet flower but is also sour to those of dark hearts."

"Was that a threat?" Ai asked crossing his arms as hard glare formed across his face. His patience for this woman was growing very thin very quickly. "Get out of my castle before I have you lynched."

"I'd like my prince to reconsider his offer for I too hold many secrets naked to the human eye." She warned yet again.

"I hate repeating myself. I said get out and this is your final warning." Ai snarled at her which hadn't ever shown to neither Reiji or Ranmaru. For once, the both of them feared for the old woman safety.

The old woman smirked. "I see now. I can see it clearly. You have no heart." Slowly, she began growing taller and taller as he cloak hid more of her appearance until she as tall as Ranmaru. She removed to cloak only to reveal a beautiful woman with long chestnut red hair hair and her eyes beautiful and rosy cheeks. She was almost glowing.

"Y-You're a.." Ai backed away from her a bit with wide eyes.

"A sorceress, Young Prince." She said. Her voice was also enchanting. "My name is Tomochika and I have seen the darkness inside you. For you were not born with a heart of love. But a metronome of ice. And for that I must punish you."

"W-Wait a minute!" Ai said looking at her. "I-I had no idea..you looked nothing like how did. You can't-"

She cut him off. "Oh? And what if I did? Would have let me stay? So it's you see people for what they look like and not for what they really are." She reached out a hand towards him as her hair blew around. Reiji and Ranmaru moved away from her. "Prince Ai Mikaze, You're punishment has now been decided. For you, everyone will be able to see the two side of you. How you are and how you look like and I'm cursing the rest of the people who live here so that it won't only be your life that you have ruined."

Ai's eyes went wide as he blinked. Slowly, his nails turned into claws and his blue eyes were turning dark red along his teeth becoming razors sharp. "W-What have you done?"

"I merely changed you into the beast you are." Tomochika returned. "Now, whenever that high temper of yours decides to rampage, you'll take that form until you calm down then you shall return to your normal state along being much more stronger and dangerous. Your servants shall forever be cursed until you learn to love and find someone who loves you for the beast you are. You have until your 21st birthday and the last petal to fall on this rose."

"What if I can't?"

She smirked. "Than you will remain a hideous beast forever." Laughing to herself, she began to fade away.

"No wait!" Ai shouted but she had already vanished.

So ashamed of how he looked, Prince Ai stormed up to his room and shut the door almost making it fall from the hedges. He tore up every picture of himself and eventually found himself at his bed leaning against it. The rose from Tomochika appeared on a table along with a mirror. Her words echoed in his mind.

"Only a true love..." Ai said sitting on his bed looking down to his claws before glaring. "Who could love a monster like me..."

**I bet it was a little cliche but hey when in Rome. I'm changing up the story a lot as we continue but who was shocked to known that Nanami isn't Beauty?*raises hands* Ha! Oh wait...But Still this will and shall continue on. I shall see you in Chapter Two! (Which will be longer)**

**Edited: 8/5/16**


	2. Chapter 2

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Two: The Quest For Love**

"I'll be back later, Kaoru!" Shouted a hyper blonde as he ran out the house at turbo speed. In his mouth was a piece of toast he had stole from the table. He adjusted the bag in his hand after jumping the stairs in the way. Just as he was about to take off, a boy who looked almost just like him came out.

"Wait, Syo-Chan!" He called making Syo smack his teeth together taking out the bread. He caught up to him and gave him his book which Syo blushed from embarrassed. Kaoru chuckled. "Just how did you plan to get a new book if you didn't return this one?"

Syo smiled. "Thanks, Little Bro." He then took off without another word towards the library while Kaoru laughed a bit while returning back into the house.

"Oh that Syo-Chan...Always in a hurry and always in another world." Kaoru muttered under his breath.

Syo ran through town, the bag now carrying the book and chewing the toast in his hand. He looked around as everything started to open and people coming out. He was small for his age being 17 and had yellowish blond hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes in the entire village. To basically everyone, he was super cute, which he hate being addressed as.

"Another normal day...Same old people..Same old everything." He sighed. "Nothing happens here.."

"Good morning, Syo!" Said the Baker with a bright smile as he began to enter his bakery.

Syo grinned. "Morning, Sir."

"So where you off to?"

Syo pulled out his thick hard cover book showing him while keeping his bright grin. "To the library. I need to get a new book even though I really did like this one. It had a dragon and a brave knight and-"

"That sounds wonderful, My boy. Mary, come on! We have an order to fill!" He went inside closing the door after him. The small boy sighed again before putting it back into his bag and starting back on his journey.

As he walked, he started daydreaming about his book and what it would be like to fight a real dragon. It sounded cool...however as he did, people were talking about. He was known for always being spacey and rather odd about things. His imagination was what ran his life and that's what most didn't understand. Yet no matter how weird they found him, he was still cute as can be.

Syo jumped the back of wagon that was passing still a bit dreamy like before jumping right back off once it passed the library. He jumped right back off and almost dashed inside. "Hyuga-Sensei!" He called as he came in.

The orange-haired librarian looked at him with a small smile. "Mornin', Syo."

"I'm here to return this book." He gave him the object before going back over to the small collection of book looking around. Even though he wasn't honestly sure why, since he had read almost all of them.

"You finished this already?" Hyuga asked while holding it watching the small blonde skim through the titles. "I mean you just got it yesterday. You couldn't possible have finished it that fast."

"What do you mean? I couldn't put it down. It was so interesting. I was so captured that I almost missed dinner." Syo laughed before glancing again. He saw a dark red cover one that had the title written neatly across the top. His eyes sparkled before taking it out. "I haven't read this one before. Did you just get it?"

He nodded. "Oh yes. It was just donated yesterday. I thought that it would catch your eye." Hyuga told him while putting the other one back on the shelf. Syo rested in a chair examining flipping through the pages. "I read a little of it. I'd say it would be something of your interest."

"How so?"

"I recall reading something about magical music.."

The two words made the teenager jump up. "What? Really?" Hyuga smirked to himself shaking his head with a light laugh. When it came to music and anything that sounds out of this world, Syo would read it in a heartbeat. "You aren't just trying to get me to take it are you, Hyuga-Sensei?"

Hyuga ruffled his hair. "Not to my favorite customer." He started leading him out. "How about this? I'm letting you keep it as a gift from me to you."

"But Hyuga-Sensei..."

"No buts. I want you to have it." He reassured as they reached the door. "And you can call it an early birthday gift since I won't be open on your birthday."

Syo bowed to him, holding the book. "Thanks a lot, Hyuga-Sensei! See ya later!" He ran off waving to him before turning to open and read his book. It only took the first few sentences for him to get drawn in. There was boy who was orphaned at a very young age. It kinda reminded him of himself and Kaoru. However, whenever the boy got sad, he would go into the forest and sing to the animals. There were even lyrics and music notes to it.

He began to hum it while reading the story. The villagers still continue to talk about him and his strange ways. Saying how behind all that cuteness, was a mind of mystery that they didn't understand. He heard some but it payed no attention because of the song in his head and his nose in a book.

There were gunshots coming from not too far. A man with ash blonde hair only had to shoot once for a large bird to fall. He looked towards his trainee, Cecil, who went and caught in a bag with a small flip. He smirked. "Good job, Aijima. You are learning well indeed."

"Thanks, Camus-San. You're shooting is really amazing. You haven't missed a single shot." He praised looking at him. The man twirled the pistol blowing the smoke from it while shrugging and walking. Cecil followed. "I'm serious. No beast alive could ever stand against you." He smiled before adding. "You couldn't even be resisted by any girl in the whole village."

"Or guy to that." He put an arm around Cecil before pointing to Syo, who was getting eggs from an merchant still reading his book. "And I got my sights set on that one."

Cecil's face twisted up in confused as he blinked. "You mean that weird cute one? The brother of that super crazy doctor?" Camus nodded. "But he's a guy..."

"That means nothing to me." He said giving him the gun. "He's more cuter than any girl in this entire village. That means he is the best choice." He yanked Cecil by his collar. "And don't I deserve the best?"

He nodded rapidly. "O-Of course. But still-"

"No buts then." He shoved him away. "I'm going to woo him just you wait. No one can resist the looks of me." He began looking in a mirror grinning to himself.

"Then how about catching up to him." Cecil suggested pointing to Syo who had walked by head buried again the book. Camus ran to to catch him but people suddenly came from absolutely nowhere, crowding the place.

Syo managed to get through it easily while more continuing to call him the daydreaming, funny boy. He reached where the road where he was fixing to go home when Camus jumped from the roofs, being the only option since the road was a definite No.

"Hello there, Syo." He greeted charmingly fixing his hair yet earning a low hello from Syo as he kept walking. His eyebrows furrowed before snatching the object from him, moving away.

"Huh?" Syo said as he stopped, returning to the boring world he knew. He turned back Camus and sighed. "Camus, give me my book."

"Honestly, Syo. Why do you read such garbage? It has little to no pictures in it at all." Camus said avoiding Syo advances to grab it.

"I didn't know you had such trouble reading without them. Now give it back!" He tried again but Camus held it over him. He glared at the height puffing his cheeks a bit.

"Just try it, Shorty." Camus grinned looking at him. He looked really adorable. Syo made a small fist before trying to jump and get it but Camus tossed it behind him. The blonde gasped as it landed in a muddy puddle. "Oops."

"Dammit, Camus. Move." Syo shoved past him to go reach his book before the liquid got into the pages but Camus gripped his wrist. "..!"

Camus started walking pulling him closer. "Come now, Syo. Why don't you forgot about that stupid old thing and take a walk with me around the village. Besides, someone cute as you should be more focused on other things." He pulled him even closer. "Like me for example."

Syo blushed, shaking him off and staggering back. "3 things. 1, Don't call me shorty. 2, Don't call me cute, and 3, I actually enjoy reading so don't have to see you." He ran and got his book shaking it off.

"You're joking. Come on, live a little." Camus said looking at him. "It's just a walk. It won't kill you."

"When concerning you, Camus, you never know.." Syo retorted with a straight face walking away. "Sorry but I decline. I have to go help my brother anyways."

Cecil snorted. "You mean that crazy nut? You're right, he could use all the help that he can get." He laughed making Camus chuckle a bit.

Syo glared at him. "Shut up! Don't talk about my little brother, you ass!"

Camus hit Cecil in the back of his head. "Yeah, Don't talk about his little brother."

"He's not crazy. He's really smart and is enough to cure anything." Syo declared wiping off his book. He heard a loud boom, which only came from one house. He face palmed. "Worst timing in the world, Kaoru..."

Camus and Cecil laughed more. "Yeah, because crazy isn't so far from smart!"

Syo rushed to basement where he was greeted by a bunch of smoke. He coughed a bit from the black air, fanning his way inside. "Kaoru!" He called, coughing going in fully walking around opening the windows to get the smoke out. He saw Kaoru hunched over in his chair wearing his goggles while the rest of his face had some smudges of smoke on it. "You alright, Kaoru?"

"I'm fine. But I'm ready to give up on this failure of a digestion liquid." He pouted, removing the safety glasses from his eyes. "Honestly, I think you are the smarter twin out of the two of his

The older twin chuckled while hugging him from behind. "It's fine. You say that every time you do try. Trust me when I say that you going to a make a digestive that will blow their minds away at that convention of yours. You might even get that award."

"You really think so, Syo-Chan?" Kaoru asked him with questioning look.

"Would I lie to you?" Syo countered with a smirk.

Kaoru smiled a bit. "You're right. I'm going to get this to work and I'm going to win that medal. Thanks." He began working again putting the goggles back on. "Do me favor and hand me that green stuff." Syo went and grabbed it before sighing while handing it to him. "So how was it in town today?"

"Average I guess." He replied before looking at his book then him. "Hey, Kaoru..Do you think I'm odd?"

"Odd?" Kaoru looked up. "My brother? Odd? They don't even sound like a correct sentence."

"I'm serious. I really don't fit in around here. Everyone thinks I'm weird or hell even strange." He said softly holding the book in his hand. "There's not really people I can talk to besides you since the guys moved away."

Kaoru got back to work. "So what? Surely not everyone thinks that. Like...that Campus fellow. He's pretty handsome.."

Syo let out a snort sitting down. "You mean Camus. Yeah..he's handsome alright...and a pervert, conceited, rude, a know-it-all, a pervert...and just plain self-absorbed. Did I mention a pervert?" He laughed a bit before resting his head on his hands. "He is so not for me the slightest."

"Don't worry, Syo-Chan. I'm sure the right one will pass your way eventually." Kaoru told him before moving towards him. "But with help of this new little creation, it might be a big change for the both of us. All I have to do is test it." He took a piece of bread and dropped inside the mixed liquid before Syo pulled him away. The ready for the explosion in case one happened.

It was just bubbling and a little smoke. They examined it and soon the bread dissolved completely and the smoke stopped. Syo smiled huge. "You did it, Kaoru. It finally worked!"

"I did?" Kaoru said before smiling and hugging his brother. "I did it! I'm so awesome! Now I have to pack for the convention!" He let go and started putting things into special cases.

"Wait, Kaoru...When are you leaving?" Syo asked him while helping him put a few up.  
"Why today of course." Kaoru answered with a bright smile. "The convention is a few towns away. I need to leave as soon as possible in order to make it since it's a two day trip."

"Two days?" He repeated. "That means that you won't be here for our birthday. It's in two days, you know!"

Kaoru winced in remembrance. "Oh damn...I completely forgot about it.. I never would have signed up if I knew."

Syo frowned, crossing his arms. "That's means that you're still going?"

The younger twin nodded sadly. "I'm sorry but this is really important to me. I finally did something that may have use to someone. I can't pass it up."

"Not even for our 18th birthday!" Syo shouted in disbelief feeling his eyes water. "Kaoru, you can't be serious! Why can't you sign up for another one! I mean it's just some fair!"

"It's not just some fair, Syo-Chan. This will help us in so many way more than one. I'm doing this for us." Kaoru grabbed his hands but he snatched them away. "Syo-Chan..."..  
"You're doing this for yourself, you selfish bastard!" Syo grabbed his book and stormed upstairs to his room slamming the door with much fury.

Kaoru sighed a bit as he continue to pack. "I am sorry, Syo-Chan...But I have to do this. I want to get that piano for you. I wish I could tell you the reason I have to win. You'll understand when I get back..."

**Oh snaps...I bet that was unexpected but hey. Live and learn. And avoid these questions later in the future...Yes. One way or another I will try to get all the characters from Uta-Pri into this. I have a small twist indeed for you all besides that fact that Syo is the lead. Happy Belated New Years and Thanks for the follows and favorites! See ya in the next one!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Three: A Distant Dream**

When Syo woke up, he was hesitant to get up. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only 7:00. He already knew that Kaoru was probably long gone so he continued to lay staring up at the dull ceiling. His eyes watered again thinking about his brother. How could he leave and not be there for their birthday... "Damn you, Kaoru. I hate you..." He whispered laying on his side. Without realizing it, he slowly started floating right back to sleep.

_"Oh wow, look at the prince! He's so cute!" Squealed girls as the royal family road by in their open carriage. He was only the tender age of 8 yet the girls looked at him as if he were already an adult. His hair was a shade of blue that was unknown to many people but complemented his face well with eyes that were a lighter shade of that blue making him even more cuter. He had a look of boredom on his face while glancing around._

_"Ne, Syo-Chan, look!" Said a boy who was about a year older than Syo and Kaoru. He had bright red hair that was in a messy style with warm ruby-eyes that gave a calm feeling whenever talking to him. The 6-year-old blond turned and looked to where he was pointing. "It's the prince."_

_Syo looked to where he was pointing and blushed seeing him. Trying to play it of as if he was cool, he walked away. "So what...it has nothing to do with us. He's just some snotty rich kid." He remarked as the red-haired boy followed him. He pouted and went in front of him, making Syo give him a look of confusion. "What?"_

_He examined his face more before giggling. "You're blushing, Syo-Chan. Was it the prince?" He asked with a bright grin._

_"W-What! A-Are you crazy!?" Syo blushed harder, looking away. "Like I said...he's just some snotty rich kid. Why would anyone want to blush over that! He's probably stuck up and talks about high and fancy things like golden crowns and jeweled encrusted plates and..."_

_"I get it, I get it...you think he's hot and rich.."_

_Syo pouted making two small fist and glaring at him blushing even harder than before. "S-Shut up, Otoya! I don't like him!" He shouted earning looks from the crowd making him blush more. His loud proclaim even stopped the carriage that was moving. "Uh oh..."_

_Otoya looked at him laughing putting his hands behind his head. "Good job. You're cuteness actually did stop traffic." He said still laughing while Syo glared at him more turning around from the crowd. "Now everyone knows you like the prince."_

_"I don't not like the prince for the last time!" He shouted getting his, smiling face, while his remained bright red._

_"How come?" An unfamiliar voice said making his glare drop. The two children turned and saw no one other than the prince looking right at them only a few feet away. They glanced at his clothes seeing he was wearing a white suit. Syo blushed even more as they both remained silent. "Well?"_

_"..." Syo couldn't find a response and just ran and hid behind Otoya who laughed at his younger friend. He tried to hide more to make himself invisible._

_"Otoya!" A boy who looked only a year older than Otoya ran up behind him and punched him square on the head making him fall on the ground holding it. He had dark-blue hair with a lock in his face with matching color eyes. He was wearing the same school uniform as Otoya and Syo with an irritated face. "You two skipped school just to come to some parade?!"_

_"You didn't have to hit me!" Otoya whined holding it head sniffing while tears brimmed the corners of his eyes. "You're so mean, Tokiya..."_

_The prince coughed a bit to gain the attention of Tokiya. He straightened up and glanced at Syo and Otoya before bowing to him. "U-Uh...Y-Your highness! It's an honor to be in your presence. I'm sorry if these two idiots bothered you." He apologized quickly while Otoya whined again._

_He instead pointed to Syo with a face that gave no emotion what-so-ever. "I want to know why he doesn't like me. I don't even know his name nor met him yet he declared profoundly in a very clarion timbre that he doesn't particularly care for me."_

_Syo made a face. He hardly understood half the words in his sentences yet he looked about Tokiya's age. But for some reason, he couldn't speak to him. "I-I...just...I don't."_

_Otoya laughed again. "Denial." Tokiya hit him again making him puff his cheeks with more tears appearing in his eyes. "Stop hitting me, Tokiya!"_

_"Stop acting like...you in front the prince." Tokiya hissed at him. "Baka."_

_Stepping closer to Syo, the prince tilted his head. "What's your name?" He asked, instead of further interrogating his reasoning behind not liking him. Syo mumbled something under his breath making the royal pout. "Talk louder. I can't possibly hear you unless you think I'm a mouse."_

_"I said I'm not telling you!" He said louder looking at him with the world's smallest glare but biggest blush. "I don't like you so why should I tell you my name! Besides my parents told me not to talk to strangers and...you are a stranger."_

_He smiled. "I'm sorry you feel that way...Shorty."_

_"Don't call me shorty!" Syo snapped out him._

_"Well you won't give me your name." He shrugged laughing lightly at his red face. "And show a little respect, I'm a prince after all. Which means I'm technically, you're Senpai." His voice had a bit of humor hidden within it trying to see how mad he could make the younger boy._

_His cheeks puffed making his cheeks even redder. "I really really hate you!"_

_His smile twitched before dotting his forehead hard making him hold it looking at him shocked. "That wasn't nice at all. I tell you to be respectful and you say you hate me. Just apologize and I won't have your parents punished."_

_"Sorry to break it to you but someone already beat you to the chase." Syo pouted looking to the side._

_He tilted his head in confusion. "Are you an Orphan?"_

_"Take a wild guess. I thought you were smart, your highness." He teased at his title a bit with sassy tone. "Don't even bother being sympathetic with the 'I'm sorry'...I've heard enough of those.."_

_"I wasn't going to." The prince cut him off getting in his face. The blond's cheeks reddened a bit with him being as close as he was. "I was going to say that they deserved it." Otoya, Tokiya, and Syo's eyes widened from his cold words that stung the younger one's heart. "After all, if I had rude and disrespectful child like you, I would jump in front of a bullet and be the one who shot the gun. In my opinion, they are probably the lucky ones. Saw a chance to get rid you and took it. Who wouldn't?"_

_"..." He just stared him as his eyes burned with tears._

_Seeing his shocked face made the boy smile turning away. "Well I must say, it was pretty pleasurable meeting your acquaintance, Shorty." He started walking. "And you might wanna see a doctor about your blushing problem..not to mention your eyes are watery."_

_"You jerk! They are both your fault!" Syo yelled at him earning gasps from the citizens who knew better than to yell at the prince. "I never met a such a horrible person in my life! I hope you get slapped in the face for being a huge-"_

_Tokiya covered his mouth holding him back. "Forgive him, please, your highness. He doesn't know any better." He tried apologizing so he friend would get in trouble or worse killed._

_"I must admit...if he hadn't entertained me so much I'd have him in my dungeon in 10 minutes then be able to get home and watch him be hanged. I'll let this slide but if we ever cross paths again, he's going to be my prisoner." The prince turned partly to smirk at the two. "...who knows, I might even make him my slave."_

_"I'm no ones-"_

_Otoya, this time, covered his mouth standing up shaking his head. Tokiya gave Syo a look before bowing to the prince again. "Thank you for your kindness, My prince. I'll make sure he won't.."_

_"I'd actually like him too." He smirked before walking._

_Syo managed to get out of his friend grasp and glared at him. "I've never be anyone slave! I hate you and I hope I have the joy in slapping you one day!"_

_"One day, Shorty."_

The now teenage boy was jolted awake by the sounds of knocking on his door. He looked at through the darkness of his room room groaning a bit. It wasn't Kaoru because he had left the previous night and only one other person had a key to his house. Despite knowing this, he didn't get up and turned away from the door. "Who is it?"

"Who else but your best friends?"

Syo opened his eyes and turned back around getting up fast. "Ittoki-San? Ichinose-San?" He asked seeing the two figures in the doorway.

Otoya laughed a bit. "Will you drop the formalities? I know we haven't seen you in years but were already on a first name basis...Ne, Syo-Chan?" He gave him his classic smile that hadn't chance from when they were kids.

"I told you drop the Chan last time I remember it." Syo crossed his arms as Tokiya and Otoya walked over and sat in various spot of his room. "Anyway, what are you guys doing back? I thought you both were in a whole different continent studying music until you turned like turned old. You were so happy finally getting out of this run down place."

"Well we are taking a short break for a while." Tokiya told him with a smile. "Not to mention, we came to celebrate your birthday. You're 18 now well in another 14 hours or so."

"So..." Syo said softly looking down.

"What do you mean so?" Otoya asked with a small frown. "I've been waiting for this day since you were like 7. And it's pretty funny since you were the one who had declared with the world's cutest blush that you wanted us to be here when you became an adult. You know that I wasn't going to allow myself to break a promise I made to such a cute face."

The small blonde face went a bit pink looking at Otoya with a soft glare. "I told you not to call me cute!" He then looked down to his lap keeping his glare and blush. "I'm sorry...but I'm not in the mood. I'm happy to see you both after like 7 years and all but I wish I could be a full reunion rather than just us three."

Tokiya gave him a look. "Yeah...we noticed that Kaoru wasn't here. He actually left you a note if you want to read it."

He shook his head automatically no. "I don't want to. At least not now..." He smiled a bit looking at them. "Well what are we waiting for...I have a whole birthday to celebrate. Let's go do something!"

* * *

Kaoru looked at his map from the horse, pulling his cloak around him as the wind picked up. His horse jumped a bit and he calmed her. "Calm down, Phyllis." He looked back at the map. "We should have reached a town by now...Maybe we missed a turn."

He rode to a wooden directory and saw that it was all worn out. It was barely even readable. A small pout appeared on his face. This was gonna be much harder than he thought. Phyllis started to go in one direction before Kaoru pulled her back, forcing her in another.

"Come on. We'll try this way." He said brushed her mane. She gave a nod before running off. As the they kept down the eerie road, fog started to pick up and it became darker. The horse slowed a bit in order to get use to the surroundings. She caught glimpse of a shadow between the trees and jumped making Kaoru drop the map and look at her confused. "Phyllis?"

The female horse took off into the woods at a very fast speed while Kaoru was still trying to figure out what spooked her. He kept shouting at her to slow down but saw the shadows chasing her. She glanced behind her once to see, only to see them multiple in numbers. She ran to the river that much deeper than she thought. She neighed loudly feeling the frigid water and felt Kaoru shiver holding on to her while she swam across it.  
Kaoru coughed a bit, looking around. Now he had no idea where the were..but what he did see made him tremble from fear in additional from being in the cold liquid. One jumped in front of Phyllis which made her jumped up again only to have Kaoru fall off. After that she took off.

"Phyllis!" He called standing back up with another cough. "Wait! Come back!" The horse did not returned but the wolves started towards him. He yelped running as fast as could away from the them but they started chasing after him. They kept gaining which each turn he did and he was getting low on speed. His face was red and his breathing was off but he was more focused on staying alive.

The wind was also against him, blowing his dark cloak back letting it get tangled in the branches slightly but he managed to get off before it could stop him. He reached a big gate and saw inside was a very large castle. A small glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes as he tried to open it turning around to see of the wolves had caught up.

He banged hard on them. "Help! Someone please help me!" The small blond cried out. Right as wolf jumped towards him, the gate swung open enough for him to get end before shutting as quickly as it opened. Kaoru attempted to catch his breath when he felt the tug of his cloak. One of the black wolves had grabbed it with their freshly sharpened teeth. He pulled at it causing the cloak to rip and him to fall on the ground hard.

The wolf spat out his half the cloth before growling at him once and disappearing into the woods with the rest of the pack. The fog picked back up so he couldn't see where the undomesticated animals went but he let out a sigh of relief seeing how the wouldn't be able to follow him anymore. Standing up and brushing himself off, Kaoru looked at the castle. It was even bigger than he had thought.

But why was there such an ominous yet solitary aura emitting from it's beautiful appearance?

**I am so sorry I haven't updated! I'm been getting things together and better believe I'm going to get things done! You have my word as a Phantomhive that this story won't fail! You all can hold that against me too..But I had fun writing this chapter..The little Flashback was foreshadowing..And so Cute! The twist didn't happen just yet...Wait for it and I guarantee that you will love it! Thanks for your patience and for the follows and favorites! See ya in the next one!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Four: Imprisonment Idolization**

Kaoru knocked on the door to the huge castle, holding the cloak around his shaking body. "H-Hello?" He called out hoping that whoever owned the property could hear him...and was actually alive. He glanced behind to see if the wolves were still lingering around. Just enough, they were. He knocked again harder and the door creaked opened. Hesitantly, he walked in and looked around. The door shut behind him with another cold draft that caused him to shiver.

Inside was a huge room, which he figured was the main hall. It was dark but he could see a bit of the large paintings hanging around along with candles and lanterns. While looking ahead, he saw a large staircase with pillars that went as high as the ceiling. The blond jumped in fear when he heard a thunder crash followed by the pounding of rain. Sighing, he looked around some more while rubbing his freezing arms in fear and coldness.

"He-Hello?" He said again a bit louder, hearing his voice bounce off the empty walls before trying again walking away from the door. "Hello!" Kaoru jumped again when he heard the sounds of two people whispering back in forth. His eyes darted back in forth to see if he could find the source. "I-Is someone there?" He asked hoping to receive an answer that never came.

From behind a wall, the bi-colored steward stared his brown-haired partner with a finger on his lips motioning for him to be quiet while they looked at Kaoru. Reiji examined him closely. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Ranmaru put a hand over his mouth which made him stop. He glared at him. "I already told you, don't say a single word, Reiji." He whispered quickly moving it away.

"I didn't mean to intrude but I lost my horse and.." He coughed a bit with his face getting a bit redder. "A-And I don't know how to get home from here so I was hoping for a place to stay for the night." Kaoru said out loud, now looking for the person or people he heard so the would come out and greet him. "P-Please...I'll leave in the morning.."

Reiji looked at Ranmaru with a small look of sadness on his face. "Oh Ran-Ran, have a heart..." He said pouting at his friend, trying to convince him. His response was Ranmaru covered his mouth again with a stern look that said no while shaking his head. He frowned before biting down hard on his hand causing him to yelp and let go shaking it. While he nursed his hand, Reiji went behind Kaoru. "Of course, Sir! You are welcome here!"

"Wh-Who said that!" Kaoru said looking around backing up into Reiji. His eyes widened a bit looking up to see who had ran into and blinked a bit. "A-A statue?"

"Hiya!" Reiji greeted with with a bright grin causing Kaoru to scream in surprise moving away from him. Being naturally clumsy, he tripped over his own feet and fell on the ground looking at up Reiji pointing with his hand shaking and eyes wide as saucers. The brown-haired butler tilted his head in confusion. "Something wrong?"He questioned confused by his actions.

"Y-Y-Y-You're a-a talking..." He tried to spit it out but he was too shocked to get out the sentence. Putting the finger down, Kaoru examined Reiji a little more before seeing that he wasn't a statue just a tall man. A human just like him. His breathing turned slightly normal and he let out a breath of relief. "I-I thought you were a talking statue."

"Dammit, Reiji!" Ranmaru came up from behind him and hit his friend on right on the head with the hand he had bitten. He crouched over holding his head and pain and his crossed his arms. "I hope that hurt! Now thanks to you, he's seen us. Just wait until-" He stopped seeing Kaoru standing and staring at him intensely. He blinked multiple times to make sure. "What?"

"Your eyes are extraordinary! They are two different colors!" He said moving in a little closer to examine them causing Ranmaru to back away slightly as his curiosity as he got closer. "It's so weird but it's so extraordinary at the same time! Were you born with them or did the change over time! The science behind them must be really interesting! Were you part of a experiment and was that what changed because usually the eye color comes from your parents..did they have two different eye colors too..."

As he kept talking, Reiji chuckled lightly at his many questions and the looks on Ranmaru's face while trying to keep up with all the words he was saying at once. Finally getting blown off the edge, the steward exploded. "Will you kindly shut up!?" He shouted glaring at him a bit. Kaoru stopped and frowned a bit looking down which caused his own glare to clear for some reason.

"I beg your pardon." He said softly before looking at him, messing with his fingers. "I-I just never seen a person with two different colored..." Kaoru's nose turned a bit red as he couldn't finish his sentence. Reiji and Ranmaru shared a look knowing exactly why. He was about to sneeze. Sighing deeply, Ranmaru went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief giving it too him. He accepted it and sneezed into the small cloth.

Reiji saw how red his face was and removed his glove to check his temperature. He gasped feeling how how his forehead was. "Oh my gosh, you poor thing. Being out there in the cold has made you sick to the bone. Follow me, we can heat you up by the fire and-"

"No, Reiji!" Ranmaru cut him off. "You know damn well, we can not do that!" Reiji blinked in confusion and he rolled his eyes with a small scoff before pulling him away from Kaoru so he was a good distance away from the blond boy. "You know just as I do that if the Master found about this boy then he might make him one of his slaves. If they don't fit the criteria of the Prince, then you know just what happens to them." He motioned like cutting his throat of Reiji would see the big picture.

He frowned more glancing at Kaoru then back at Ranmaru. "Ran-Ran, he's only a boy and not to mention he has a fever. He'll die if we sent him back into that storm. I don't want that to happen...and besides..he may just the person we've been waiting for." He whispered with a slight smirk on his face. "I mean..just look at him. He's really cute." Ranmaru rolled his eyes at the comment and Reiji sighed. "I'll talk to the master if he finds out but for now, I'm going to help him!"

Within seconds, Reiji was escorting Kaoru into the room while Ranmaru followed him to make sure that he wasn't going to mess up anything. He paused seeing him sit Kaoru on the one chair there. "Reiji..." He started in a warning tone which could have been mistaken for growl. He glanced at him once before continuing to treat Kaoru. Ranmaru face-palmed with a deep sigh.

"T-Thank you." Kaoru said with a small shiver as Reiji placed a warm blanket over his shoulders, that he happily hugged himself with. Hearing and feeling the light crackles from the fire were soothing and peaceful. It was inviting and was also heating him up quickly but inside, he was still shivering the bone. Ice cold water was always his enemy. He glanced up to looking up at him. "You're really nice, Mister..."

"Reiji. Reiji Kotobuki. But you can call me Rei-Chan." He introduced with a small wink, smiling at him causing the blond to nod. "So, little one, what about you? What's your name?"

"My name is Kaoru Kurusu." He smiled back before coughing a bit.

Reiji's smiled faded a bit looking at him. "Poor thing..." He thought before getting a small idea. "Wait right here." He went out the room and into the kitchen where Haruka was doing the dishes while little Natsuki was playing with a toy train on the ground. "Haruka! I need you to make some tea!" He said approaching the woman from behind. Startled by the sudden request made her drop the plate but Reiji caught it before it fell.

"G-Gomenaizai!" She apologized quickly taking it from him and putting it up. "B-But you needed tea? Can I ask why?" Haruka asked timidly looking at the butler slightly confused about the request. Usually the Prince would come to her himself and say it but it was rare that Reiji did. He smiled brightly at her which could only mean thing. "W-We have a visitor! I'll make some right away! Natsuki-kun, go fetch me our best china!"

The small green-eyed boy nodded standing up. "Okay!"

"Oh it's been so long since we had a guest!" She squealed while heating the water. "I want to see him to make sure I have the right amount." Haruka wiped her hands on her apron going out to look at Kaoru who was still in the chair looking down. A small smile appeared on his face. "He's only a young boy, well young compared to us but not much younger than the master..."

"The storm forced him here...I thought it was best that I took him in." Reiji said with a sigh. "Thought Ran-Ran was going to be super mean and kick him back." She frowned looking at him but he just grinned and waved his hand. "It's nothing now. I just want to help his cold get a little better, that's all. I stopped listening to that sourpuss years ago." He laughed hoping to change her frown.

She nodded with a small smiled forming back on her face. "I-I see...Alright." The door which was in the room with Kaoru slammed open causing the lantern to blow out and them flinch. "Uh oh...that must be the master..." She whispered to Reiji.

Reiji was about to counter it until he heard Ranmaru basically saying absolutely nothing and frowned. "It's him." He stated moving past her into the room. He came face with Ai, who looked positively pissed. His arms crossed firmly and tightly against his chest, fingers tapping impatiently against one arm with a cold glare on his face aimed directly at Reiji. The brown-haired butler scanned the room and sucked in a gasp. Kaoru was on the ground unconscious by his feet probably from the silent attack from Ai. "M-My Prince...I-I can.."

"Save your breath, Reiji. I've warned you countless times about bringing people here!" He shouted, his glare increasing. Even with the only source of light gone, it was clear to see his bright red eyes almost piercing into his skull. Not only that but along with the snarl on his face,his sharp canines formed. Ai took a step closer to Reiji, which caused him to take a step back. "I don't why I should just punish you right now for your insolence. Is this how you obey my orders?"

Reiji bowed his head. "Please forgive me, Sir. But he needed refuge from the storm. I thought it would be okay. I know his highness isn't too fond of...well anyone seeing him but I couldn't just leave him out there to freeze to death or be attacked by the wolves. I mean...he's just a kid. I could never live with myself knowing that I could have helped him..." He looked up to slightly only to see Ai kneeling down examining Kaoru. His eyes widened a bit noticing how intrigued his face was. "Ai-Ai..." He muttered under his breath.

The scowl on Ai's face slowly changed into a twisted smirk. "...He doesn't look too young. He's actually pretty cute, wouldn't you say, so Reiji?" He asked out loud but knew that it wasn't really a question for him to answer. He poked his cheek and Kaoru twitched a bit. "I take back what I said. This is an interesting find you have here. I think I'll keep him as a toy." He gave a toothy smirk which sent shivers down both Reiji's and Ranmaru's spine. He got up and looked at them. "Lock him up in the dungeon in the tower. Last thing I want is him getting away." He turned and walked out the room.

Reiji and Ranmaru shared a look before sighing and beginning to do what the prince ordered.

* * *

"So what's it like at the school you guys attend?" Syo asked as they walked through the village. It wasn't as busy but people were going back and forth around. Tokiya was on his right side while Otoya was on his left. They were taller than he was but he had always been short so when it came to them, he was never bothered by it. "Did you learn to finally play an instrument?"

Otoya laughed a bit. "Well I learned how to play the guitar pretty well. Top of my class with some of the greatest guitar skills. Tokiya, had no interest in learning how to play so he just got past being an awesome singer..." He pouted looking at him while Tokiya kept looking forward. "Though, for some reason, he refuses to work on a song with me. I asked him about 10 million billion times but he just keep saying no.."

Tokiya let out a small sigh of annoyance by his words, looking at him from the corner of his eye and sliding a hand into his pocket. "Well I have been busy trying to keep my grades up. It's important I pass on a good mark in academics and singing wise. Not only that, why on Earth would I want to spend my precious time working with an idiot...that sounds like time I'll never get back."

"So mean..." Otoya muttered with a frown. "So what about you, Syo-Chan?"

"Well...not exactly." He started looking down a bit before them. "I know how to read music and write it but I cant play any instrument. Mainly cause I don't have one but still...I read a few books about the Piano and violin but that's about it." He sighed, crossing his arms a bit closing his eyes. "You two are lucky you get to go to an entire school that focuses on music. I'm stuck in this boring town doing the same routine."

"So us being here plays a major change in your daily life?" Tokiya asked with a slight snicker. "Has to be pretty boring around here. After all...we did kinda find things to make fun around here. Well most of the time, I would come up with a game and you two would just agree to it but it was still very fun." He stopped and suddenly chuckled. "I remember that we would go the park and sing for the other children and adults. That was pretty cool."

Otoya nodded in agreement. "I remember doing that! It was so much fun that it was like a daily routine!" He smiled brightly. "The adults said that we would all probably make amazing Idols one day.." He suddenly pouted. "Well we were too young to know what idol meant and I think they should have used singers instead."

Syo looked at him and tilted his head confused. "What do you mean? What's wrong with Idol?"

Tokiya and Otoya shared a glance before they stopped walking which made him even more confused than ever. Tokiya sighed. "Idols are indeed singers but they are not singers because they want to see. They sing in order to survive. Idols are kinda like singing concubines who can never leave and usually girls or really cute boys." He explained. Syo's jaw had almost hit the ground. "Want to me explain further?"

"Please don't!" Syo said to him quickly looking down. "So basically they said that we could make good singing slaves? Well...that's pretty shady. Jackasses..." He muttered before looking at them. "You know what...I know what I want to do for my birthday. I want to prove them all wrong. We are all better than...than mere slaves!" He saw both Tokiya and Otoya blink and he frowned.

"What?"

"Um...Syo-Chan...it's not that we don't want to leave you on the spot like this but...we aren't Idols. We as in me and Tokiya. We both proved that when we got into the school." Otoya smiled and gave him the thumbs up. "But you can do whatever you need to do! We're behind you 2000 percent!"

Syo rolled his eyes. "I swear...you never change." He sighed before putting his hands on his hips. "But If I don't I basically an Idol in training. I want to be a musician like you two and just go to that school but I don't want leave Kaoru..." He said almost talking to himself. "Hmm...I'll sing something then and prove it right now." He looked around and walked over to a bench.

"You sure about this, Syo?" Tokiya asked.

"Hell yeah, I am." He returned before letting out a breath and he started to sing loudly. Even if it was loud, his singing was very good. It wasn't long before he started to catch the people attention. Tokiya blinked and soon he saw a crowd of people had stopped to listen to the boy sing. Some had a bright smile on their faces while others watched in awe. Syo smiled himself singing happily to no music. Otoya grinned seeing him having so much fun giving him the thumbs up. Even in the crowd was Camus, who was not only smirking but listening to his voice. There were more who were listening to him some not even in sight.

Ai was returning to his room and took his mirror which was his only connection to the outside world. His fangs and eyes had returned to normal so he was just lying on the bed looking at things. His attention was caught when he saw a small blond with bright blue dancing and singing happily in the town over to him. He tilted his head at the mirror watching him. Something about this boy was familiar...Though he couldn't quite put a finger as to how.

An image of Kaoru flashed in his mind and he looked at him more. "_They must be related...they look almost exactly alike...but I know him from somewhere else too..."_ Ai thought while still watching. He wasn't going to stop anytime soon until he put a finger on it. "_Well I better figure out soon. I'd hate to keep my new Idol waiting.."_

**Yeah...I know my Idol thing probably was pure bullshit but I think it works out pretty well. Hehe...But that surprise is still makings it way downtown moving slowly. Maybe next chapter or the one after but I won't keep you all in the dark for long. Promise. Anyway, Thanks for your patience and for the follows and favorites! Please Review and tell me how I did. See ya in the next one!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Five A Singing Sacrifice**

Haruka poured Reiji a cup of warm tea as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. She looked at him with a small pout. "R-Reiji, please calm down. Drink some tea it might help.." She said softly to the stressed out butler as he stopped and sighed. She had never seen him look so upset about anything like this before.

"I'm sorry, Haruka." He plumped into the chair, sighing again. "...I just feel so guilty. Who knows what Ai Ai might do to that poor boy...Not to mention that he is sick and is in that cold prison, freezing to death or coughing out his lungs." He grasped his hands together, looking down. "If anything should happen him, I don't think I could live with myself.."

Haruka frowned, putting her hands on his in an attempt to help him. She pat them. "Reiji, you really do need to calm down. You can't help that you tried to help. It's in your nature but...you know how His Highness is and you can't change him." He was still looking down. She smiled a bit knowing how to cheer up him up a little. "Everyone, has bad days. Sometimes you get caught up between the noise and craze." She sang to him softly.

He looked at her and smiled a bit, hearing the song. "But then I hear, my friends start to cheer and I know I got work to do." Reiji sang back to her as his nerves calmed a bit. That song was something they made up when they were little whenever one was feeling bad. Part of him was even surprised she remembered it. "Thank you, Haruka." He told her before standing. "Maybe there is a way for me to convince Ai-Ai to let him go...If I tried hard enough, I think I could. " He turned hearing the door open and he blinked seeing Ranmaru leaning on the side of it, his arms folded over his chest with his eyes closed. "Ran-Ran...?"

"That little plan of yours might not work as well as you think, Reiji." He said emotionlessly to his coworker, which made him and Haruka look at him confused. Most of the time, Ranmaru would keep to himself about these types of things. The steward sighed standing up straight looking at him seriously. "His highness is already on his way to speak with the prisoner right now..." He saw a small light flicker in Reiji's eyes as he started walking towards the door. "Reiji, listen to me "

"I have to stop him! " Reiji declared trying to get past his childhood friend, heart racing. He had to save him before it's too late. Ranmaru stayed in front of the door, making him frown. "Ran Ran, move!" He said, making two fist from anger. The steward looked away, making him start glaring, which was rare for Reiji to ever do. "Ran-Ran, how can you be so heartless! He's only a kid! I know you aren't the one to help people but this serious! Everyone the prince has killed has been adults but this is a small boy who couldn't be older than 16! His death may not weigh on Ai-Ai or even you, but it's going to haunt me the rest of my miserable- Ow!"

He was suddenly cut off by Ranmaru, who had pushed him against the wall and slammed one hand on the wall by his head dangerously. He was glaring at the brunette harder than he had ever done before. "Dammit, Reiji, you think I don't know that! Don't assume that I don't care because I do, alright!? " He shouted making Reiji's glare lighten and change into a soft stare of confusion. He started to say something but Ranmaru put a finger to his lips causing him to blush a light pink and blink as the bi colored man got closer to him and started to whisper. "For once in your life, Reiji, just shut up and listen to me. I have a plan to help that Kurusu kid but only if you remain silent. If his highness found about this, he might find a way to murder us too."

* * *

Kaoru coughed a bit while he hugged his knees as he sat against a wall. He looked around and frowned a bit. His legs were chained to the wall along with both of his wrist. He coughed again trying to catch his breath. It wasn't like he couldn't breathe but he seemed short of breath from coughing so much. "Syo-Chan..." He muttered, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. He didn't know if he was ever going to see his twin ever again...

"Who is he?" A voice said, causing him to look around frantically. When Kaoru saw him, he noticed that there was a figure standing beside the locked door. His heart thumped in fear. A pair of bright blue eyes that seemed to be glowing in darkness. He started to walk forward, which made Kaoru stand, quivering. Bright teal eyes and matching colored hair, a white suit, a golden crown sitting on his head. He had an emotionless look on his face. "Well?" He said again a bit louder. Kaoru only stare at him making him chuckle. They way he looked so scared was somewhat cute. "Well I guess that doesn't matter now. Since you belong to me."

"W-What do you mean..." Kaoru stammered with a small cough and looked at him trying to seem brave. The person just looked at him closer and Kaoru felt a shiver run down his spine. "W-Who are you?"

He smirked getting only 3 feet away from him, causing Kaoru to hit the wall with a small cringe. "I'm pPrince Ai Mikaze." He answered. "And since you trespassed on my property, I now have full control over you. And before you make the argument that you were invited in, let me explain something. I am the master of this palace, therefore, I control who comes in or out. I never agreed to it and my servants know that no one is allowed here. But because I'm in a merciful mood, I'll keep you alive to be my idol."

"I-Idol?" Kaoru repeated, as his eyes widened. He had read multiple books on Idols as research for Syo. He hadn't ever told him that Idols were probably the worst job you can get. He was going to tell him but it had slipped his mind. Another thing Kaoru knew well, was that he couldn't sing. He gulped nervously before looking at away. "I-I...I refuse..." He said softly. "I won't be your idol... "

Ai's smirk dropped and turned into a look of seriousness. He clenched his fist hard before walking closer to Kaoru and gripping his neck pushing him against the cold wall. "Its wasn't a question. I'm being kind here, so don't take it for granted. You will become my idol.." He squeezed his neck in his hand making Kaoru gasp for air. "Or I'll have your head on a silver platter." He said before an evil smirk got on his face. "Come on, it's not like you can resist me..." He went to his ear and started to whisper. "...I'm a prince after all...there is alot that I know you want...Alot that I know how to do...I can make this better than it seems. Cure that virginity of yours."

Kaoru started to blush extremely and was barely noticeable due to his sickness getting worst. The way Ai was so close and how he was whispering into his ear, it felt weird and funny. He looked at him trying to stop his blush. "I wouldn't...g-give my body...to a d-dark hearted Prince..." He choked out and suddenly felt the grip on his neck tighten. Ai had suddenly pulled away and was glaring at him hard. His felt his heart scream as he saw teal haired royal's eyes go red and grimacing teeth go sharp. He looked like..."...Y-You...You're...a mo-mons " Another tight squeeze from Ai made him stop talking and gasp for air.

"Watch your mouth when talking about me, Peasant." He snapped immediately, his voice dark and cruel. "Anyone who calls me a monster doesn't deserve to be anywhere near my presence." He slammed Kaoru harder into the wall, earning a silent cry of pain from him, before letting the small boy hit the ground, coughing and hurting. He started to leave the room and looked back at him before going out and slamming the cell door and locking it. "I'll give you 4 I'm in a good mood, which is a very low possibility, I give you another chance...other than that...I'll have you hanged."

With that being said, he went away and Kaoru frowned with a cough while he returned to his fetal position against the wall, now hurting and shivering. He knew that he wasn't going to survive. He could feel death creeping on his neck, almost like how Ai's breath felt on his ear. He cringed in pain closing his eyes, pulling his knees tighter to his chest for warmth and support. "I'm sorry...Syo-Chan..." He apologized.

* * *

Otoya looked at Syo as he baked while Tokiya wrote some words down in his song book. Syo was still fuming mad about learning about, Idols. Not only did he overhear someone say how cute of an idol he be, but heard multiple people mutter it. Tokiya and Otoya had to hold him back before he lashed out on the whole crowd. The moment he got into the house, he started to make something to take it off his mind. "Honestly..." He grumbled. "After all that, I'm still just an Idol...this freaking sucks."

Otoya chuckled a bit watching him as he started to grumble even more as he cooked, a dark aura surrounding him. "Syo-Chan, you really need to calm down, you know. Tomorrow is your birthday, this shouldn't be on your mind." He told him, but saw it did no good to him whatsoever. "...Also, I'm pretty sure that if you keep this up, you are going to burn down the whole place and I actually like my life...so."

Syo, once again, ignored his friends plea cooking angrily, mixing the ingredients into batter and Otoya sweatdropped. He was actually making salad before started random supplies. Tokiya looked at him and sighed a bit. "Syo, does it really bother you that much?" He asked, lifting his eyes from the page to look at him as he put down the batter/salad. "Its just some stupid people who don't know good talent when they see it. You shouldn't let it get to you."

Syo sighed looking at the counter. "You..You don't understand, Tokiya..." He started quietly. "I mean...you and Otoya don't have the same problem as me. I live here and go into town most of the time. I'm so use to them calling me odd or weird but hearing idol... It makes me think that I'm not going accomplished anything important..." He looked down. "Kaoru said that when he gets famous for being a doctor..he was going take care of me, for all these years...but..."

Otoya smiled at him. "Syo-Chan, don't worry. You have a bright voice and a great dancing ability not to mention your looks! You have the capability to be a legend!" He saw Syo fight back a smile and Otoya smile grew. "Kaoru is just trying to be considerate. You know him...but don't let that stop you. He can help you and you can help you. Remember what you always said before doing something like a dare or even just promising something..." Syo nodded. "Come on say it. You know you want too..."

"Otokogi Zentai..."

"Come on, louder! More enthusiasm!"

Syo smiled a bit more looking up. "Otokogi Zentai!" He sounded a bit happier than he was which made Otoya happier too. "Thanks, Otoya. I feel a bit better." He shot a look to the dark haired boy writing, narrowing his eyes. "Thanks for nothing, Tokiya..." Tokiya smiled and nodded, making him roll his eyes in return. He checked the oven, looking at his cake before suddenly gasping going to the fridge, looking around frantically. "Dammit, I forgot to buy frosting the cake..." He frowned going and closing the oven.

Otoya stood. "Well as your friend, I'll go get you some from the baker. Call it, one of your birthdays gift." He gave that innocent toothy grin that was impossible to say no too. "Ne, Tokiya! Come with me! I don't wanna go alone!" He said to his partner. Tokiya pretended not to hear him and Otoya frowned. "Tokiya! Tokiya! Notice me!" He whined, which earned a small chuckle from Syo.

"Fine." Tokiya sighed, closing the book. The redhead cheered a bit making Tokiya glare at him and Otoya look at him with that same bright grin. He smirked walking past him. "I better get something later..." He whisperes almost sense how hard Otoya was blushing, while opening the door. "Well it's getting late and he'll be closing soon..."

Shaking off his blush, Otoya met him at the door but stopped to look at Syo. "We'll be back real quick. Try not to set anything on fire." He retorted before he and Tokiya left with a click of the door.

Syo sighed a bit with a smile. Those two were way too much...well mostly Otoya...mainly Otoya. He chuckled to himself thinking about it what Tokiya had just said to the red haired boy. He always knew that Otoya and Tokiya were going to end up together. Tokiya had been cold and mean to the redhead since they were little and being the lost puppy that he was, Otoya would stay near him. Syo was almost envious...

To past the time, he picked up his book that he had just received and started reading, leaning over the counter so that when the timer went off, he wasn't far from it. He smiled humming more of the music as he read more of it. The story was just getting better. Not even 3 minutes later, a loud knock on the door caused him to jumped. He blinked putting the book on the table making sure not to make it wouldn't lose its page before going to see who it was. The peep hole was taller than him by a couple of inches to his dismay so he had to get on his tiptoes to actually see outside it. He saw ash blonde hair and smacked his teeth before opening the door.

"C-Camus...What a ...unexpectedly random surprise..." He tried to make it seem like he cared even the tiniest bit but his acting skills were only so good. Camus started to walk in causing him to walk backwards. Syo blinked, giving him a look. "U-Uh...um...Is there something...that you need...that I can help you with?"

Camus smirked a bit, moving towards the blonde, closing the door. "Actually, no but there is something that I believe I can help you with." He said, earning a confused glance. "A little birdie told me that tomorrow was your 18th birthday so I thought that I'd stop by and be the first one to tell you happy birthday." He went and sat at the table, tossing Syo's book aside so he could prompt up his feet. "You know, Shorty...you are a very lucky person. A lot of people would love to be in your shoes right now."

Syo got his book off the groun,d sending a glare towards him. "Please enlighten me as to how that is?" He retorted, his tone dripping sarcasm.

"Because you're getting the best gift from me. No need to thank me." Camus smirked, able to tell from his face that he was annoying the boy. "Let's just say its a cute little story. I, the most handsomest man in the entire nation, killing and hunting to put food on the table. After a long day, I can sit down lean back and watch the fire." He noticed Syo rolled his eyes and begin to walk away. Easily, he reached out and grabbed his wrist pulling the the small blond towards him, making him somewhat blush. "My little lover cooking in the kitchen while our children play with the dogs."

Hearing cooking made Syo remember the timer as it just went off. He shook his hand away from Camus going to take the pie out of the oven, blushing a bit. As he did, Camus stood, slyly making his way over to him. Syo heard him mention something about 6 or 7 as he did, making him raise an eyebrow as he set the pie down by the window sill to cool down.. "Y-You mean dogs?" He asked partly confused.

"Not dogs, children. Striking young men!" Syo left the room getting his book, grabbing his book trying to avoid any physical contact with Camus as best as he could. "Syo, do you know who that little lover might be…?" He asked. The boy simply shrugged putting the book in the bookcase. "You, of course." Camus answered with a bright look on his face.

"Eh?!" Syo shouted in disbelief, looking at him a small blush on his face. "Y-Y-You're joking, right!? N-No way in hell you are serious!" He pointed at him childishly backing away. Him and Camus….? Cooking for Camus…..Living with Camus….Having..Sex...with…. He face went redder. "Nu uh!" He made a X with his hands.

He didn't even know when Camus had gotten so close to him because he felt a hand wrap around his waist and move his chin up. Camus was smiling at him and it was his classic lust filled smile. "Syo, don't you see? This is your birthday gift. You get the chance to become one with me...isn't that just the greatest present in the world?" He asked softly, leaning to kiss him.

Syo saw how close he was getting and fought his way out his arms, stumbling towards the door, trying to get rid of his blush. "C-Camus...I-I...I can't say that I'm not...uh...flattered but..." He stammered. Now, he could just kick him out and lock the door but he wasn't stupid. The pistol hanging from Camus' side along with how strong he knew he was...Syo shook his head frantically at Camus as9 he walked towards him again. "Sorry, Camus but…." He opened the door and pushed him out. "I don't like you!" He then slammed and locked the door quickly walking away. He heard Camus knocking on the door and simply sighed with a shiver. "Gross…"

Meanwhile outside the door, Camus sighed, glaring at the door as he walked down the stairs. Cecil was waiting for him by the nearby tree playing with a black cat he had found. He looked up and saw Camus and smiled. He tilted his head seeing how angry Camus looked and glanced at his cat for a second before him. "I take it things didn't go we- "

Camus cut him off by yanking his collar, glaring at him hard. The cat Cecil was holding ran away in fear at the sight of the ash haired man. "That boy will, and mark my words when I say will, be mine! I don't care how or what I have to do, but it's going to happen!" He shoved him away before storming off back towards the town. "Hurry up! My tea isn't going to get itself!" He barked.

After a few minutes, Syo unlocked the door, holding small bits of food for the stray animals he found lingering outside. He looked at the cat that had ran away and went down the stairs to pet him. He purred as Syo looked around. "Good, he's gone.." Some of the other animals came out to him and he sighed standing. "Honestly...Can you believe it! He asked him to be with him! Me?" He addressed the animal while putting the food down carefully. "The lover of that annoying, self centered brainess…" He muttered. "Syo Permafrost? His little lover? Ugh, It doesn't even sound correct!" The cat finished the bits and meowed so he picked her up. "My father would want me to be happy right? Not be stuck with some jerk...I don't even love him."

A few silent seconds passed and Syo looked at the setting sun with a sigh as he began to hum. He stood up, walking over to field that he often stargazed at with Kaoru. He could almost even remember when he was here with his father and Kaoru. He sat on the grass and looked that the sky while the cat laid beside him. He felt the wind and tried to make it carry off his worries while he stared at the clouds. He hadn't thought about his father in years….mainly because each time he did, he would start crying and he hated doing that. It showed weakness. He needed to be strong for his brother..even though he was weakest out of them. But with what they experienced….was it only natural?

He remembered his parents clearly along with their faces. His father's name was Youhei Kurusu and he was famous singer. He was tall and had golden hair and matching golden eyes. His voice was so wonderful that he had to power to make hearts beat faster. Even when Syo and Kaoru were born, he often traveled spreading the love in his voice all over. However, as fun as it sounded having a famous father,his mother was probably the most horrid woman ever. Her name was Riliane Kurusu and had been a prostitute since she had met Shougo, going under the name is Kyui. She had dull black hair and light red eyes that were even duller. While Shougo was away, she had often mentally abused her children, sometimes even physically. Syo shivered remembering her harsh words after locking them in a closet.

"_**You idiots are the worst mistake of my life! If only I hadn't given life to mistakes like you then maybe I can enjoy my life!"**_

As long as this went down, Shougo never knew. When he was around, she acted as if they had been a perfect family. But if they did anything wrong, they knew that Riliane was going to punish them the moment their father wasn't around. Even without his knowledge, she had refused to send them to school because the chance of them trying to tell. Even her identity as a prostitute was a mystery to Shougo. He could recall on several times he tried to tell his father only for each attempt to be put to a stop by his mother. He was the one that got the most harm out of him and Kaoru because he was older. Secretly, Syo had hated him for it...But that was until the incident had happened…

He quickly snapped from his thoughts, not trying to remember that part. He sat up and shook his head ,trying to get it from his head. He looked over to the cat and smiled seeing it fast asleep. Syo looked by the cat to see what Kaoru called, 'Wish Granting Flowers'. If you blew the fluff away after saying a wish, it was sure to come true. He never actually tried it before because it had somehow managed to forget it. Slowly, he picked one up and examined it with a sigh.

"I wish..." He started softly. "I wish for an adventure somewhere...anywhere. I wish for it more than I can stand. I just want more than this dull and boring place." He then blew them all away just as he heard a familiar whine of a horse. Syo stood and watched as Phyllis came running towards him in a panic. He saw Kaoru's bag still attached to her but noticed instantly that he was missing. "Phyllis! Calm down, girl. Whoa now..where's Kaoru?" The horse only got more hyped which meant danger. He felt his heart pound dangerously pulling her towards his cottage. He had to find him. With as much quickness as he could, Syo put Kaoru's stuff in the cellar and grabbed his cloak before mounting her. "You have to take me to him, Phyllis!" She nodded and started off but stopping seeing Tokiya and Otoya.

The redhead saw him on the horse and tilted his head approaching him. "Syo-Chan, what's wrong...its look like you seen a ghost... Did something happen?" He asked, able to see the distress on his friend's face. His head tilted. "Where are you going?"

Syo gave him and Tokiya a look before bowing his head a little. "Sorry, you guys but something important has come up. I don't have time to explain so I'll be back soon enough. I'm sorry again." He apologized quickly before making Phyllis go towards where she came, leaving Otoya and Tokiya standing there confused while watching him go into the woods.

* * *

Syo felt his heart race when he saw a large castle come into view. It had been maybe a couple hours since it became dark outside and it was cold. Phyllis seemed to still be afraid as her steps got slower and slower as she approached the gates to the castle. When they did get to the gates, she immediately started flipping out almost making Syo fall off. Instead, he jumped off and shushed her while looking around. It was quiet and that's what scared him the most, having read tons of books where the worst things happened after dark. He looked at the gates and dashed inside using the gate opening, seeing a piece of cloth that had been laying on the ground. His bright blue eyes widened, knowing it belonged to Kaoru. He gasped a bit in horror, clutching it in his hand before going to the door quickly.

His mind screamed for him to not touch it but he ignored it, using all his strength to push the large door open before going inside it, looking around. A cold draft from the door caused him to pull his cloak around him more before the door suddenly shut. Syo jumped with a silent squeak before sighing proceeding to look around the quiet and dark castle. He saw a large staircase and started to walk up it, looking for anyone to maybe help him. "Hello..." He called out hoping for an answer. "Is anyone here? Hello!" He said a bit louder. Syo bit his lip a little hoping that Phyllis had not lead to somewhere abandoned. "Kaoru! Are you here?"

From one of the corners he passed, a pair of eyes watched him. He peeked out a little more to make sure that he was seeing it correctly. The small child gasped a bit before running to the nearby door that lead to the kitchen, going and tugging on Reiji's pants and Haruka's skirt. "Rei Chan! Auntie! There's another boy in the castle! I saw him! He's walking around and stuff!" Natsuki said quickly before Haruka picked up him. "I'm serious! It's true!"

The brunette looked over to Ranmaru in shock. "Your plan...worked.." He said almost not believing it himself. Ranmaru just gave a smirk while standing going over to the door and out of it. Reiji watched him before following him, blinking trying to figure it out. Ranmaru and him had found Phyllis lingering outside after they had got done talking and forced her to go back and get help. He had been so skeptical of it working but Ranmaru had proved him wrong for once. "Ran-Ran, I-" He started to say but got signaled by the steward to stop talking and look around the corner. He did and went to look. Syo was wandering around still calling out from someone and his brother. His hood was still up as he looked. Something in Reiji sparked while looking at him. Whoever that boy was...he was special... "Ran-Ran...I think that's him. He's the one! The real real one we have been waiting for!" He whispered excitedly.

"Eh? You really believe that Reiji?" Ranmaru blinked before looking at Syo too. It wasn't the same feeling as his partner but he too felt a small tint of hope. He sighed it away before shaking his head. "Whatever...we should be leading him to the Kurusu kid. He's about to miss the door." He told him before following after Syo silently. Reiji smiled a bit, knowing that he had felt it too going too. The got to another corner and watched Syo pass the door. Ranmaru grabbed a pen he had in his pocket and tossed it at the door, making it creak open a bit.

Syo jumped again and turned around looking it. He frowned a bit and swallowed hard before looking around. He was pretty sure that the door had been closed. "H Hello?" He went to it and pushed it open a little more. "Kaoru!" He called, taking small steps inside, almost able to hear his heart beat loudly. Looking around the room, Syo saw a candlestick and picked it up instantly, seeing how he can use it to see a little better. He saw stairs circling around going up and looked up them first. It had bars on the windows with no glass so the floor was damp from rain. Swallowing back his fear, he started to go up them slowly.

From the door, Ranmaru and Reiji watched and smiled a bit. They had succeeded in leading him there. Ranmaru was about to to brag about it when he saw Haruka run up to him with a scared look on her face. He tilted his head at her while raising an eyebrow. "Mrs. Nanami what no " He paused mid sentence. She was to look out for the prince but now that he thought about it, he never recalled making sure the prince had returned to the west wing. Meaning that he was...

As Syo reached the top, he squinted it eyes a bit. He heard a small cough and looked around. "Is someone here?" He called out hoping to receive some answer for once by yet again, it was just silence. He sighed starting to turn around. "I know I just I heard something..." He uttered.

"S-Syo-C-Chan...?"

Despite the voice sounding weak, Syo heard it and recognized it easily. He ran to where he heard the voice and dropped the candlestick, looking through the prison door. Kaoru was shivering by a wall, chained to it and his face was almost blue as he coughed. His stomach twisted and he instantly opened the door, not caring what noise he made, going to his twin. "Oh my god, Kaoru! Are you alright! Talk to me!" He demanded.

The younger blonde looked up and his eyes widened as he gripped his brother's hand in relief and fear. He coughed a bit more but right now he was worried more about his brother. "S Syo! Wh-What are y-you doing h-here!" He wheezed, not realizing how bad it was. "Y-You have to leave!" He cried.

"Kaoru...your hands...they're ice cold." Syo gasped before shaking his head ignoring what his twin had said while attempting to pull off the chain. "We have to get you away from here! " He declared, but stopped when Kaoru hugged him, only feeling how cold he actually was. Syo held on to him while he cried into his shirt. "Ka-Kaoru...who's done this to you..."

"S-Syo-nii...please...before he co-comes back...yo-you have go...he'll hu-hurt you..."

Syo blinked in confusion and was about to ask who he was talking about before something suddenly yanked him back by his hood, causing his grip on Kaoru to release and him to hit the ground a good distance from his twin. He sat up, as his hood fell looking around frantically. "W-What was that! Who's there!" He shouted, looking at his brother.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and saw Ai walking into the dim light. His eyes were still the same dark red and nails as sharp as knives with a glare on his face looking at Syo. "I'm the master of this castle. The real question is, who are you? Why are you trying to release my prisoner?" He questioned, arms crossed, his voice being dark and serious.

"..." Syo was silent looking the man/beast. All his courage had been almost drained from his body while looking up at him from the ground. He looked familiar but knew for a fact that he hadn't seen anyone like him before. A cough from Kaoru caused him to muster up as much of the little courage as he could to respond to the prince. "T-That's my brother! Please you have to let him go! He sick and needs help!"

Ai's face with blank and emotionless as he glanced at Kaoru , who was laying on the ground coughing and wheezing softly before looking at Syo again. "He was trespassing here. I won't do nothing of the sort and honestly don't care if he is sick. He's my property now." He stated to him earning a hard glare from Syo. "I'm not changing my mind. My wishes are final."

"But he can die! How can you be so..." Syo stopped before looking at his brother again and frowning. If he wasted anymore time talking, it could mean worst for his younger twin. Syo stood up and looked at Ai, his glare lightened into a face of desperation. "Is there anything I can do? Please, I'll do anything if it mean you let him go..." He tried pleading but saw how uninterested Ai looked. He suddenly got an idea and took a step forward. "Let me take his place! I'll exchange myself for his sake!"

That seemed to have peaked Ai's interest while also getting Kaoru's attention. The weak boy got up a bit to look at his brother, his eyes begging for Syo to not do it. He wanted to tell him but his throat was close to closing in and breathing was hard enough. He shook his head but Ai simply smirked looking at Syo. "Oh, you would sacrifice your life for his? As tempting as it sounds, I'm not looking for just some simple prison decoration. Just what can you offer that can make me give him up for you?"

The oldest twin's blood went cold while trying to find something and fast. What could he do...he needed to save his remaining family before he died. The words of Otoya and Tokiya floated around in his head along with the words of the village and he spoke before he could even think about the sentence. "I'll be your personal Idol and sing for you forever if you let him go! I give my word I will!" After he said it, he looked at Ai, whose red eyes had widened a bit at the suggestion. He suddenly narrowed them, almost as if he didn't believe him. Syo gave him a determined look before starting sing for him.

_**Dimly illuminating the wooden platform of the stage.**_

_**I played notes on the parquetry.**_

_**The beautiful crescent moon.**_

_**Disappears into the clouds, and I don't have an umbrella.**_

After singing the small sample, he noticed as the smirk on Ai's face had returned and it caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up as the royal chuckled. "Alright. You have a deal. I'll let him go." He turned around to the door as if someone was there. "Ranmaru. Reiji. Get in here and release the brat." He commanded coldly. At first, he thought he was going crazy until the butler and steward emerged from the door. He watched as they looked at the prince before using a key to unlock the chains. The moment they were off, Syo ran over to his twin and hugged him tightly. He whispered to him, telling him that everything was going to fine, as Kaoru clung to him. Ai watched them for a second before rolling his eyes and snatching Kaoru away, tossing his body to Reiji, who caught him before he fell. Syo stood and glared at Ai. The prince saw the glare and only smirked at his two servants. "Take him to the execution chamber then kill him."

Syo felt his heart smash into pieces by the order and went to grab his brother only to held back no one other than Ai. He had one grip on his arm holding it up while other was wrapped around his waist while Syo faced forwards. He fought hard in his arms trying to get free of the tight hold. "No! You liar! You said you would let him go!" Syo shouted struggling in his grasp.

"I didn't say how I was going to let him go, now did it?" Ai asked him with a single laugh while Syo froze by the realization. He looked at Reiji, who was staring at him with complete shock. "Did I stammer, Reiji? You heard me. Kill him. Now."

"No! Don't! Please! Kaoru! No! I'm begging you! Don't!"

Reiji looked at Ai before looking at Syo, who was on the verge of tears as he tried to get from the prince's strong grip. He was completely horrified that Ai was going to double cross someone who had willingly given up his life. His throat went dry while picking Kaoru a little more. Kaoru's breathing was uneven and he was super pale. Syo was still screaming for him to spare his life but Reiji knew that his prince's orders was absolute. He bit his lip hard before looking at Ai again with a sympathetic expression. "Ai-A...My prince-"

"Understood, Your Highness." Ranmaru covered his mouth with a plain look nodding at him. Reiji's eyes went wide but the bi colored man just shot him a look. It was the look he gave when he wanted Reiji to stay quiet. "Let's go, Reiji." He said to his friend softly, despite the cries of Syo. With his head lowered to where his eyes were no longer seeable, Reiji just nodded standing, biting his lip even harder while going out the room slowly with Ranmaru right behind him. The door remained wide open as Ranmaru got a lit candlestick to help him get down without falling.

With each step he heard as Kaoru got farther and farther away, Syo felt tears run down his face as his cries turned into wails. He fought more and Ai actually let him go and watched him stumble up a bit over his own feet. He started to run after the three but heard the door shut with a click. His heart seemed the crash in thousands of pieces hearing that simple noise and his pupils dilated slightly. "No…." He muttered as he sank to the ground clutching his chest, crying harder. "No….Not again...No…" The sound of shoes hitting the ground next him made him look up to Ai, who had walked over to the door starting to leave. "You didn't even let me say goodbye…" He choked out letting the salty water, drip to the ground. He looked at the ground a little, shutting his eyes. "I didn't get to tell him goodbye..."

"Goodbyes are overrated." Ai stated plainly, looking at him. His eyes had returned to their icy cold blue state and his fangs went back to normal teeth. He blinked again and suddenly remembered something that had happened a long time ago. The boy in the mirror….the boy he had met at a town...the promise. A toothy smirk went across his face while putting a hand on his hip. "It's funny. You look so pathetic right now...the same crybaby and brat." He teased as Syo looked up to him with shock and anger. He tilted his head a bit. "Strike a nerve?"

"You...You monster! You lied to me!"

"I haven't lied you. Not once. Not now…..and certainly not when we were kids….Shorty."

**Gomen! (Sorry!) I haven't updated in months but can you really blame me! I mean look at all this! I nearly broke my fingers and I cried rivers! But I apologize for any mistakes. But enough about me… It looks like the Syo x Ai parts are going to begin soon but how? Syo hates Ai and Ai seems to enjoy that. What do you think of the story so far?( I made an official picture ) Please Review and tell me how I did. See ya in the next one! (Which i hope will be sooner)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Six- The Monster Beckons**

Syo looked at Ai in shock while blinking his watery eyes. What was he talking about...this was the first time they had met. Wasn't it? Almost like lightning, the dream he had...no.. the memory flashed across his mind followed by Ai's words. His eyes widened looking at him from the ground. "I-It's you...Yo-You're that prince..." He pointed at him with his hand slightly shaking.

Ai smirked at him. "You really should be honored. No one has ever done as much as you did and gotten away with it. I guess that makes you special, doesn't it?" He asked with a small laugh before walking back over. "Actually, now that I think about it. You still have yet to tell me your name. Tell me now."

Syo angrily wiped his eyes and glared up at him, not moving, but his hands turning into fist. "I'm not telling you anything, Bastard! Why should I, huh? You lied to me! You told me-"

"I told you that I would let him go, which I did. He looked like he was going to die anyway so all I really did was put him out of his misery. It's actually pretty upsetting. I'm here talking to you when I could be downstairs watching the execution." Ai's head tilted a little bit after talking which made Syo's bright blue eyes widened in horror. He chuckled and took a knee while Syo's head fell. "Now then, unless you like me calling you shorty, tell me your name. I don't mind it but..." He suddenly stopped talking seeing how Syo wasn't even looking at him. Something in his head snapped and he glared hard at Syo. Without warning, he gripped the blonde's chin and forced him to look up. "Look here. I own you now, got that? From now on, you will follow what I say. Look at me when I'm talking to you."

Syo could only cringe and move his head around trying to get him off. It really hurt and Ai's grip was surprising super tight. "L-Let go! That hurts! Let go!" He shouted with his eyes shut tightly. He ceased his struggling when he heard a soft and deep growl come from Ai. He opened his eyes partly and saw that the princes former cyan eyes were a dark red. Just like before. Those eyes which reflected that of a monsters. He felt his entire body freeze in complete fear...as he felt the fingers on his chin get sharp but didn't cut him, only scared him more.

"I don't think you grasp the entire situation yet, do you?" Ai asked him, coldly. His grip didn't tighten but his other hand squeezed into a fist. "Maybe I should enlighten you with a few rules. Drill them into your head until you actually do get it." He stood up, bringing Syo to his feet, still looking at him. "When I stand before you..." He paused mid-sentence to swiftly punch Syo in the stomach, forcing him to bend forward holding his stomach while coughing. "...You bow and say 'Yes, My Prince'. When I threaten your life…." He stopped again and brung his arm up to bang Syo to the ground on his knees, now holding his head. Ai remained looking unfazed and dark. "..You get on your knees and beg." He walking around and crouch besides his hurt toy and grabbed a handful of his soft, bright hair. Syo cringed when he did but didn't fight him back in fear of being hit again. Ai smirked at this and realized the extent of the situation. "You seem to learn quick. Now...your name."

"M-My name is Syo….Kurusu….." He choked after a silent second. His stomach really hurt and didn't know what else to do. He didn't want to tell the prince his name but it was very clear that he didn't have any control over the situation. By the looks of it, he never did. He slightly coughed again trying to regain his lost breath. That was a very powerful punch. However, even with Syo crippled like this, the sadistic prince wasn't pleased.

"Hm….you seem to answer commands but it looks like you are still uneducated on how to behave in my presence." His red eyes almost began to glow with anticipation at his own next moves. "Let's go over all the rules again.."

* * *

Reiji looked down on Kaoru in his arms as he walked. The youngest twin was trying his hardest to breath and his face was on the verge of blue. He had expected nothing less from Ai but never expected him to double cross someone who gave their life up willingly. It was tearing him apart that he didn't know how to help. He heard the footsteps in front of him stop and glanced up. "Ran-Ran, what is it?" He asked softly watching the steward carefully as he looked around. "What are you doing?"

Ranmaru went over the door that led the side of the castle and opened it carefully so a gush of cold air wouldn't come in at full force. "Make your own guess. Come on." He walked outside and Reiji glanced around before following him, leaving the door cracked so they could get back in. Ranmaru saw a horse hanging around the gate and smirked. Perfect. He walked over and opened the gate with his key before going and settling the horse down.

The butler was trying to figure out just what his friend was doing as he brought Phyllis over. He felt Kaoru shiver and his face downed. "Are you trying to kill the horse too? The least we can do is let the poor thing go! Ai-Ai doesn't have to know!" He said, clearly upset. He already felt guilty enough having one doomed person on his conscious. An animal wasn't going to make it any better.

"You're right about that. His Highness doesn't have to know that the horse escaped….even with this boy with." He brought the horse closer and turned it around. "This thing managed to find it's way to his brother, so maybe it can take him somewhere where he can receive help. Hopefully...he'll make the smart decision to not come back…"

Reiji's eyes widened and sparkled slightly looking at Ranmaru. That was a perfectly wonderful idea! Coming from his RanRan nonetheless. He always knew that some part of him was good at heart. Carefully, he walked over to the horse and set Kaoru on to it. Unfortunately, he was still shivering. Reiji took off his coat and put on his shoulders while Kaoru held on to the horse. "Kaoru-San, please don't come back.." He told him softly while leading the horse out through the gates. He gave a horse a small slap and it ran off without a sound. He watched it and sighed looking up to the sky. "We don't have long...we better get indoors…"

* * *

Syo was kneeling the ground wincing as Ai walked around him. He was breathing heavy while his face was slightly pink. His lip was bleeding but he didn't dare touch it or even lick it away. His entire body hurt but making a move in front of the prince was probably not a smart move. He noticed Ai stop in front of him and instantly flinched, shutting his bright blue eyes tightly.

Ai gave a smirk while kneeling in front of him and pushing his head up. "Syo, open your eyes." He stated simply. Syo swallowed and cracked his eyes open slightly to meet Ai's dark red ones. "Hm...You seem to be listening better. I'm glad my rules are finally in your head." He felt Syo flinch again when he wiped the blood from his mouth. He chucked finding the motion pretty cute before standing up. "Well since you earned it like a good boy, I'm going to show you to your room."

The small blonde blinked looking up to him a bit with a confused look. "M-My room?" He asked hesitantly. He thought that he would just be a prison decoration until he had to sing for him. "I-I mean..I thought…"

Ai moved a hand to his hip. "Well….you wanna stay in here in the tower?" He asked motioning to cold, dark, and damp room. Syo shook his head no and Ai sighed. Syo seemed to be a bit on the touched side as well. "Then follow me." He started walking again. Syo stood up too and brushed himself off before trailing after the prince quicky, eager to escape the room. Once they were down from the tower, Ai waited for Syo to get out before closing the door. He looked down both hallways deciding something before walking right. "This way."

Syo did so while glancing around. It was still dark as ever. Even the dim candles didn't help it. Large paintings and scary statues were everywhere and the low light showed off their craved sharp teeth. He swallowed hard again moving ahead to stick closer to Ai. His head lowered a bit while putting a hand over his heart. It was still beating but it never felt more broken. He missed his brother...Kaoru was the only thing he had left. He thought about the younger one's smile and felt a tears run down his cheeks, not bothering to wipe them as he grit his teeth to keep from crying.

Ai glanced back at him as his eyes slowly returned to normal and his nails went down. He blinked to get use to his eyes again before moving his hands to his side. "The castle...you are free to roam it as you please...except for the west wing and before you ask why, I forbid you to go there. Breaking this rule will get you punished. Understand, Syo?"

"Y-Yes, My Prince…" Syo answered softly which caused the sadist to smirk.

As he reached the room, Ai opened it and let him inside to look around. "If you need anything..My servants will be here to serve you.." His smirk was still on his face as he talked seeing Syo wasn't paying attention. Oh, he had plans for this blond. For now...it was only fair that he'd leave him to get use to his new room. "You are to join me for dinner." He said almost politely. He instantly caught it and gripped the handle. "And that's not a request." With that being said, he shut and locked the door. A dark chuckle came from his mouth while sliding the key into his pocket.

"..." Syo was frozen for a second and waited until he no longer heard the footsteps to rush to door. He listen out again and heard nothing. It was now or never to try and escape. His hand reached the handle and tried to open it but didn't even begin to open. He hit against it once and frowned. He turned around and walked towards the large bed before collapsing on it and began to hug himself in pain. His head hurt...His heart hurt..everything was just in so much pain. He wanted nothing more than his twin or his father but fate loved to play cruel jokes on him. "This isn't fair...It's not...It's not...I promised...I promised father I would…Damn it!" Before he knew it, he was crying again.

Outside of the castle, the rain had turned into fluffy white snow with a dark sky and slow breeze. It was flowing down slowly and beautifully. The trees began to move and collect some as the breeze helped it along. The minutes were long and tedious as Syo's crying tried to cease. He remained on the bed sniffing in tears. A few more seconds passed and it was just silence.

_Gomen ne, gomen ne,__Watashi wa hontōni bakadesu.._

_Yurushite, yurushite, Sabishi gari na watashi o …._

A loud knock on the door caused him to jump in surprise and stop singing. He didn't move off the bed, slightly terrified it could be Ai again. It could be that he changed his mind and wanted to kill him too. He sniffed and hugged the pillow tighter. But if Ai did have the key then he probably wouldn't knock without saying anything. "C-Come in…" He said instead, licking his dried lips. "The door locked.." He added right after.

It took about 5 second for the door to open and reveal a young woman with orange-hair and yellow eyes wearing a maid's uniform. She was pushing a small cart while behind her was a little boy with bright blonde hair and dark green eyes playing a duck plushie. Another person came in and they had long curly pink hair and baby blue eyes wearing the same uniform as the woman. The boy closed the door and Syo sat up a little more swallowing. The pink-haired person went and sat on the bed. "Hello, Syo-Kun, right?. How are you feeling?"

He sniffed again and looked down. "Who are you?" He asked, finding that to be a little more important.

Haruka smiled while making a cup of tea. "My name is Haruka Nanami, I'm the head maid in the castle. This is my nephew, Natsuki." She introduced, pointing to the little child who waved at him after fixing his glasses. She gave the child the cup of tea and he carefully walked over and handed it out to Syo. The older blonde looked at him before taking the cup with a light smile muttering a thank you. "Everyone in the manor thought that it was a brave thing that you did tonight. I'm sorry about your brother. His majesty was quite cruel to do that you…" She said as he took a sip. "We are going to try out best to make living here good for you at least…"

"Yeah, thats our job. Oh, I'm Tsukimiya Ringo, the royal stylist. I was always the best dressed man so I've been here since the last king. You can always depend on me." He winked and Syo blinked in confusion. Having received that look many times, the stylist sighed. "Yes, I am a man. I just find feminine clothes more easier to walk around and work in. Now, Haru-Chan! Nacchan! I'm going to get our boy here ready so why don't you go finish dinner?"

"Yeah...you're right, Ringo-Chan." Syo gave the cup back to Natsuki, who ran it over to her. She smiled at him. "Come on, Natsuki-Kun. Dinner is waiting after all. See you soon, Kurusu-San." She said before exiting the room with the child.

Ringo stood up and went towards the wardrobe where a bunch of clothes was hanging, moving his hands went to his hips. "Now, let's see. It's nothing formal so something casual yet fancy...We have make sure that it matches you too. Hmm….Oh I got it! You look like someone who would wear purple pretty nicely." He pulled out a purple button-down short-sleeved shirt with gold buttons and gold outlined on the collar and sleeves. It had gold epaulettes on it as well. He got a pair of matching purple shorts placing them out neatly. "Oh I already imagine how cute this will-"

"Thank you…" Syo cut him with a small smile going to the bed sitting on the end. "I really...I appreciate this but...I'm not going to dinner." Ringo's eyes widened and he looked away pulling his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry...but I want to stay far away from that monster as possible. He's done nothing but hurt me mentally and physically...I'm not going to let him traumatize me more…" He declared remember how dark and cruel his eyes.

"Syo-Kun, you really don't have a choice…" Ringo sat going and sitting by him. "I can tell you now that missing this dinner will cause you problems in the future...you aren't the first one I've heard declare that. It was a girl. Her name was Kireina. She needed medicine for her sick father but the prince scared her so badly that she refused to even look at him or obey any of his wishes. She skipped dinner with him and the next day, the prince had her beheaded and he had her remains sent back her father in a box along with poisoned medicine. I couldn't bear to watch this happen again...please just go."

He sighed and looked at his lap. Even if he didn't have anything to live for...he didn't want to die like that. He didn't want to die at all and he was sure that Kaoru wouldn't want him to meet him like that and so soon. "I'll go...but I'm not going to enjoy myself...I'm going for the food." He said making Ringo chuckle and him smile a bit at his own joke.

Ringo stood again and pulled Syo to his feet. "Well...Let's go get you cleaned up before dinner. A nice bath should do some good after today. Dinner won't be ready for some time so we can take a little time making sure you look really cute and nice for His Highness." He held his hand pulling him towards the bathroom. When the door opened, it revealed a very nice looking bathroom with a huge and beautiful tub. He walked over and started the water making sure that it was the right temperature letting it fill up. Syo stood off to the side watching carefully as Ringo got out a bunch of things. He put them down before looking at the tub and saw it at the perfect measure. "Alrighty, you can get in."

Syo looked at it and glanced over to him. Ringo didn't seem like person to be a pervert...More like an older brother trying to help. He pushed his worries to the side for the second before starting to take off his clothes. For a farm boy, he was dressed pretty neat. A white long sleeve shirt, light blue vest, dark blue pants and black boots. Once he was done, Syo carefully stepped into the bath and sat down. The water felt heavenly. Even if he had no bruises on him, it made the places where he was hurt feel alot better. He sank more into while his face tinted red a bit. "This water feels so nice."

The stylist smiled while putting a stool by the bath moving his sleeves up. "Does it really? That means I'm doing my job right.." He sat on it and motioned for Syo to move near him. He did and Ringo made turn while pouring some liquid into his hair and running his hands through it. "Wow...You're hair is really soft and wavy. I'm almost jealous…" He began washing the younger's hair while smiling lightly. "I heard you singing before we came in by the way. You have a lovely voice...such sad lyrics...Did you write it?"

"I know...however...I didn't write it." He admitted while looking at the water with a sad expression. "It was my father's...It was one of my favorites…" He said while hearing a low Oh come from Ringo. "I have a question, if that's alright with you? Well...Since I'm stuck here...I wanted to know...Just what does an Idol do? My friends told me that it's like a singing concubine who sings to survive..Is that what I'm going to be doing here?"

"Kinda...Sorta.." Ringo paused and looked at him. "Well...The prince's version of an Idol is much different. Every other day, the prince has visitors to enforce his rule across the kingdom. He needs an Idol to entertain the guest. An Idol with a beautiful voice such as yours…" He poured some warm water on Syo's hair to get rid of the soap. "If you obey him, you get rewarded but disobeying him means that you get punished. It's really it." A question popped into his head while thinking about something. "Syo-Kun...are you by any chance a virgin still?"

A blush appeared on his face while nodding. "Yeah...why?"

"..." It was silence coming from Ringo before waving his hand, laughing nervously. "Heh...Just curious...Sorry…"

* * *

"Dinner's ready." Haruka said to Ranmaru after putting the plate on the table where Syo would be sitting. "You can get Kurusu-San, now." She smiled. The gray-haired stewards nodded before walking out the room. Nanami looked over to Reiji. "Can you go get the wine I picked from the ice pile? I want to make sure that this looks nice enough." The Butler winked and went back into the kitchen while she tidied up more, humming. She turned around and noticed that Ai was examining the table. Haruka jumped and bowed. "G-Good evening, My Prince…"

"Hm…" He returned. He was wearing a teal suit top with a long white sleeve shirt under it. The collar was dark blue but his neck-bow tie was teal. He wore white pants with black boots and his crown was still sitting on his head. He went over to a certain plate and looked at her. "This is Syo's plate, correct?" Ai questioned and she nodded. He went in his pocket and pulled out a clear substance like sugar or salt that was wrapped in a napkin. He took a pinch and sprinkled a bit over the plate before putting it away. A smirk appeared on his face while he went to sit in his own seat to wait.

Reiji came back into the room and blinked seeing Ai but kept walking. "Good evening, Your Highness…" He said while pouring wine into the glass in front of him. As far as he knew, Kaoru was dead. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him but for now...there was another task at hand. "My prince...I know this isn't my place to say but...Don't you think that this boy could possibly be the one we've been waiting for to break the curse on the castle?"

Haruka nodded in agreement with him. "I mean...we only have 5 months until your birthday. Syo-Kun really might be the one. I honestly believe so." She said putting her hand together with a hopeful smile. The mere idea of the curse being broken made her smile. "Don't you want to able to feel love or anything else? To age and exactly have a beating heart? "

The tealnette thought about it for a second before sitting back in his chair. "I've thought about it...I'm unsure whether or not that he'll be the one to break it...but since I want to be able to travel outside this ratched castle...I'll make an attempt to try and break this damned curse...Starting tomorrow...For now...I want to enjoy this night.." He lifted his wine glass smirking again. The two servants gave him a confused glance while he kept smirking. "Heh…"

**Another cliffhanger and another apology. Gosh, I'm terrible. Well...Here you are...So you guys don't have to wait long...again...I'm going to tell you all when to expect the new chapter. In 2 or 1 week. For now, it's been decided that next chapter will be rated M so be ready. Please review and tell me your thoughts. See ya in the next one! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter Seven- Checkmate**

"There we are. You look like you were hit with my style arrow. Cute as a button!" Ringo said, dotting Syo's nose after straightening his clothes. Just like he pictured, everything fit like a glove and looked amazing. Syo had a slim figure but at least he wasn't a stick. "I'm going to have the seamstresses make you more clothes that fit your size though...Pink and Purple are your destined colors, sweetie!" He said before noticing the sad expression on Syo's face. He frowned. "Syo….Something wrong?"

"This is…" Syo said softly, clenching his fist. He looked up to Ringo with watery eyes. "How do you expect me to look, huh? I can't possibly look happy when I'm about to sit and eat dinner with the person who killed my brother...You want me to sit and smile at this murderer like he hasn't destroyed the half of my life that I was trying so hard to protect!"

"Oh no, Honey, That's not what I want to you do at all. Not the bit." He went and lifted Syo's chin while the blond pouted trying his best not the cry. "Syo, I mean...Listen….I know that this is going to be hard for you but I'm not telling you to sit and smile at His Highness but sit and eat. You want your strength. Be polite." Ringo told him and wiped his eyes over again. "You can do this…"

Before Syo could begin to respond, there was a knock at the door. They looked and Ringo went to open it. Reiji was there with a small wave. "Hiya, Ringo-Chan. Is Syo-San ready? Dinner is ready." He asked politely looking over to him. The boy looked away and the butler frowned a bit. Okay?... "Is everything alright?"

"..." Syo said absolutely nothing for a very long time. Ringo looked back at him with begging eyes, which he unfortunately saw from his shifted gaze. Guilt burned into his mind as he sighed. He could already tell that he was going to regret this decision. "E-Everything is fine...It's just that I'm a little nervous...that's all. We should go..I-I don't want to keep the prince waiting…" He began walking, looking at Ringo from the corner of his eye while he went pass the door.

As Syo left the room, Ringo muttered good luck to him and replied with a silent nod as a thank you. The door shut and the smile instantly fell. Ringo went to gather Syo's clothes and sighed while doing so. He may just as well dressed a doll for a newborn child. He felt terrible beyond reason but he was going to be there when he eventually came back. "...I'm so sorry, Syo…"

* * *

Syo was silent the entire walk to the dining hall. He trying to force back any thoughts that would make him angry or sad but it was difficult, considering how those were the only thoughts he had. Kaoru was still on his mind and he missed him so much that every second made him feel worse. Once they reached the door, Reiji opened the door for him and he swallowed the negative emotions down. "_Here goes nothing…"_ He thought while walking in. He saw Ai and lowered his head. "Good e-evening, Your highness.." He said quickly and carefully.

Ai's usual bored stare vanished for a second. His eyes had widened and his body shifted in that small second before going back to normal. He gave a grunt as a response before waving his hand. "Go and sit. I just got here and already tired of waiting." He stated, watching Syo sit down at the seat in front of him. The table wasn't too long so still hear when he had settled in the chair. His piercing blue eyes went towards Reiji and Haruka who was putting extra things like sweets on the table. "Reiji. Haruka. You both and Ranmaru are dismissed for right now. Leave." With a quick bow, the servants left the room, leaving the two alone in a dark creepy silence.

One second. Maybe two, went by and Syo hadn't looked up or touched his plate. The silence was making the air thick. He could almost hear his own heart beat, going at it's irregular pattern. Once he heard Ai begin to eat, he hesitated. What was he supposed to do? He'd surely never eaten with royalty before. Not only that, but meeting glances with him was something he didn't want to do again. Slowly, he picked up his fork and began eating the first thing he saw; a potato piece. The meal was made of things that he liked. Beef Stew with cut potatoes over rice, broccoli covered in cheddar cheese, and baguette. To the side, he saw a glass of wine besides water. He didn't like wine in the slightest so water would be alright. So far, everything tasted really good.

From the other side, Ai peeked up just to see Syo taking another bite of the meal and a smirk appeared on his face. He glanced towards the clock. 10 minutes to waste, so he might as well make it interesting. He picked up the wine glass and looked towards Syo. "Listen. Let me ask you a question. Do you understand your role in this castle?" He took a sip.

He swallowed quickly and nodded. "I-I think I do. Aren't I..here to entertain your guest? Like when you have meetings or other things...Also, I have to entertain you as well to the best of my abilities…is that correct, My Prince?" Syo answered and asked. He was really just paraphrasing what Ringo had told him.

The prince chuckled, amused by the response putting his drink down and moving his hand to his cheek. That was a pretty adorable answer. Even though it was vague, it still an answer. "Well...you aren't completely wrong but you aren't right just yet." The blond gave a blink and his head tilted to the side in confusion. "Like I said, if you just follow orders and do everything I say then this won't be so bad."

Syo nodded. He couldn't or rather didn't know what else to say. If he had questions about anything then he'd probably ask Ringo or anyone else. The less he bothered the prince, the better. After that, it was just silence again. The ticking clocks were forcing themselves to be loud yet did nothing. Every small sound seemed to be more interesting than the one before. The clock waiting for the next hour, the flames from the burning candles all around going at different tempos, and the floor giving an occasional creak.

More time passed and Syo bit his lip. The room had suddenly gotten terribly hot and his throat was dry despite him drinking the water. His face tinted a light pink as he licked his lips. He never felt so out of it before. He took a light breath and reached to get water taking small sips of it. A shiver went from his chest to his stomach since it was freezing cold. Even the clothes he was wearing began to heat up.

Ai looked up and chuckled silently. His eyes went to the clock and slowly pushed his chair away from the table. "Your face has gotten quite red. Is something the matter, Syo?" He said, obviously amused.

"N-No...M-My Prince...I'm fine.."

"Now now, you shouldn't lie. It doesn't really suit you well…." Ai saw Syo shut his eyes and he stood up slowly. He was too observant to let something like that slide. Besides, he knew what was wrong so why not mess around with him for a little bit. He walked over to him but before he could say anything Syo opened his eyes a bit. It was more squinting them actually opening. "Hmm..You don't look good at all… maybe we should get you laying down."

"Wh-What?" Syo said completely lost before he felt himself standing. He didn't feel sick but he did feel woozy and heated. Feeling he was about to fall, he grabbed on the closet thing and grit his teeth. Not good at all… When he looked up, he was able to see a very smug smile on Ai's face. He put the pieces together and glared a bit. "You….What did you did...to me?"

"I have no idea what you could be talking about…"

He glared even harder and pushed himself away from Ai, and stumbled away hitting the side of the door to glare at him a little more. He huffed trying to catch his breath attempting to leave the room. He had to get away from him before something happened but he couldn't even think straight enough. "St-Stay away from me…"

Still laughing lightly, Ai watched Syo try to open the door but to no avail. It was like watching a mouse try to escape a trap. "Trying to escape me? Tsk tsk...Here I thought you had finally learned." He was only a few inches away from Syo. Syo raised a hand to punch to Ai, who simply grabbed it, holding it above his head and pinning him to the wall. He gripped his chin tightly and made Syo look at him again. He was smirking. "You're going to get punished for that little stunt.."

Next thing he knew, Syo felt a pair of cold lips on his own. His mind went fuzzy and he tried to pull himself free but that only caused the grip to get even tighter. The prince's tongue slid into his parted lips and the two immediately fought for dominance over the other. With Syo being so weak, he easily submit to the kiss, giving a low and quiet moan. With the younger captured in the kiss, Ai released his hold on his face and went to untie his long bow tie, the collar of his shirt becoming undone from him moving around. He knew that he was fully in control when he felt Syos body move against his. After exploring almost every inch of the blondes mouth, he pulled out to catch his breath, looking at him.

His face was cherry red, the only other color being from his dazed light blue eyes that seemed to instantly captivate him. He was panting from the long heated kiss and had a bit of saliva on the side of his small mouth. "You're making a pretty lewd expression right now…" He purred, seductively. Syo tried to speak but Ai cut him off going and licking causing the smaller one to flinch. "You know what, Shorty, I want to play a game."

"A-A G-Game?" He stammered out, with somewhat wide eyes which closed when he felt a cold sensation appear on his neck. It was terribly stimulating and felt so weird. Ai was biting down and sucking leaving hickies and bite marks wherever the soft skin was exposed but he kept wanting to do so much more since he liked how cute Syo sounded.

"Yes, a really fun game." Without much effort, he slid his hand up Syo`s shirt and began twisting and pressing his nipples. It was obvious that he was just as turned on as he was. "Here's the rules. First, one the come loses." He whispered into Syo's ear while he whined softly from the sensation. He waited a second for the boy to almost nod before nibbling on his ear, pinching Syo's nipple in his other hand.

Using the arm that wasn't being held down by Ai, Syo felt him go back down to his neck and hit his sweet spot which made him put his hand over his mouth to contain his moans. They sounded just way too embarrassing for him and feeling the warm breath caused him to shiver after being kissed by something so cold. Even still, he wasn't going to lose to easily. Even if he wasn't completely in his right mind, his inner subconscious wanted him to win. Ai stopped moving all together and chuckled darkly. It was scary and at the same time so alluring and attractive. Almost as if he was having the same kind of thoughts Syo was, his hand started to move down, terribly slow as it traced across his chest right down to his waist and going just a little more south. His eyes widened and made himself look up trying to move his hips, knowing what Ai was going for.

"W-Wait! Y-Your-"

"I'm not losing my own challenge. And by the looks of it, I'm not going to either." His hand was maybe the only thing colder than his lips because the moment he touched Syo's throbbing member, the blonde stopped talking altogether and cringed. Just as Ai suspected, he was smaller than he was by an inch or two but he was already soaking wet with pre-cum. Syo wasn't far off now but Ai wasn't going to just let him off easy. That would make the game simple and boring. After all, he wanted just a little more reactions from him just to see exactly what they would look like. He started to move his hand agonisingly slow, up and down and Syo bit his lips, nearly biting his own tongue as he tried to hold back another moan.

Syo felt bubbles form inside of his stomach and unconsciously moved against, grinding against him. His body was not listening to a single thing his brain was saying because it was enjoying the sensation. His head pounded, fell back on the wall. It wasn't hard to see how hard he was trying to keep it all in. Meanwhile, the prince's eyes twinkled mischievously. This was going much better than planned.

"You are really cute right now, Shorty." Ai stated after seeing the expressions on his face. It would have been a real waste if didn't take the opportunity right now. Syo was close to climaxing that even his eyes were screaming. He laughed darkly and started to lower his shorts. Once it was to his standards, he returned once again to Syo's ear, who shivered again at the warmth of his breath. "I'm going to win now." The smaller was able to bring his head up and tilted his head in confusion. Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. It only took a second for Ai to penetrate the other. Syo gave a choked cry and immediately slapped his hand over his mouth again. It hurt like hell if not worst.

Syo's face was priceless from what Ai could see from the sweat going down his face. He looked like he was in pain and pleasure all at once. Without any sort of hesitation, he started to thrust into him. He didn't think it was possible for someone to sound so alluring because the blonde was panting and moaning so sweetly and innocently. It was only making him harder as he began to go a bit faster. Syo was however going completely crazy and his vision was in circles. Somehow, Ai had moved his hands and they were wrapped around his neck while his legs were being supported by Ai was now thrusting even faster. He hit a certain spot which cause Syo to nearly scream. He smirked and began hitting that spot over and over to hear how loud his voice could get. His eyes were wet with tears from the pain in his rear but he couldn't do anything but hold on.

This was far from how Syo imagined his first time. He thought that it would be with person who he loved and who loved him. It was meant to be sweet and tender. The happiest moment of his life. He cried even more in between moans as he lowered his head. He wanted this out, he wanted entire thing to stop so he can just return to his room. This wasn't what he agreed to, far from it. But his body was enjoying every second of it. He hated Ai with every inch of his heart.

He couldn't even move anymore and his entire body felt numb as he was penetrated again and again. His voice was becoming hoarse and his lips was nearly bleeding from him biting it so hard. Without warning, he came with a small whine pressing his lips together when he realized that Ai had done the same thing inside him. His head as Ai finally let him go and he sank to the ground, a trembling mess. Ai pushed his hair back catching his breath and kneeled before him. He simply called Syo's name and the boy obeyed opening his eyes. "You lost." He stated and Syo used the rest of his energy to glare deeply at him before passing out right there.

* * *

Otoya looked at the door with a pout. It had been hours since Syo's departure and the sun had long since set. He looked towards Tokiya, who was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed and eyes shut in thought. Tokiya was never the one to show emotion but Otoya knew him enough to know that he was just as worried at he was. "Tokiya." He started before hearing a horse. He stood up with a bright smile. "He's back!" He went to the door with smile and once he opened it, it was replaced with a frown of confusion.

Tokiya raised an eyebrow and went to the door behind him to look. Why did he look asleep and why was the horse freaked out. "Syo?" He called and the moment he did, Phyllis whined and lifted up knocking her dying companion off her back. His eyes widened and they both ran to his side. Since Otoya beat him to their friend, he decided to calm the horse, hushing his and stroking her mane. He looked over to Otoya. "Is he alright? "

Otoya shook his head isn't holding the figure closely. "It's….It's Kaoru-Chan...and.. " His bright red eyes looked at Tokiya, wide with fright. "Somethings wrong! He doesn't have a pulse! I can't find it!"

**Yeah, I'm not even going to apologize because this chapter was a struggle. Hopefully you guys won't have to wait another months for a chapter. I have more free time so I'll try to update in at least a month at the latest. I still apologize for any grammer or spelling mistakes, I may have missed. I refuse to give up on this story...Anywho, it seems like Ai's little drug worked but how will Syo react when he comes too? What about this curse that Reiji and Haruka seem to be so worried about? Please Review and tell me how I did! See ya in the next one!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Let Me Go**

**Chapter 8- Song of the Sunset**

It was footsteps echoing into the dark hallways that had dim candles for light. The prince licked his thumb and fixed his posture because of the small boy on his back, fast asleep. His head was down and his breathing had finally returned to normal but he was twitching in pain and occasionally sniffing lightly. Ai looked back and smirked seeing the blonde hair draped across his shoulder. He was smirking like he'd won a prize at a festival. He looked ahead and lost his smirk seeing Ringo exit one of the rooms. The moment he saw them both, a look of horror appeared on his face. "Ringo. Take this. Now. He's heavy." He was lying but had a straight face. Syo was light as could be but he didn't want Ringo to see that.

Ringo reacted instantly when the prince began to drop the victim and caught Syo right before he hit the ground. He bowed his head. "I'll take care of him, my Prince." He said picking him and walking towards the bedroom. Ai watched and contained his laughter his eyes going red again, almost demon like.

"Let the nightmares begin."

* * *

"_Syo-Chan_!"

Syo opened his eyes and looked around. Everything was gray and there was no color. He saw that he was next to a lake and he looked at his reflection, only seeing his bright blue eyes. "_What's going on..."_ He tried to say but no sound escaped came from his voice. His hands went over his throat and he tried to say something else but once again got no sound.

"Syo-Chan!"

"_Kaoru_..." He looked up in other direction, seeing a matching pair of bright eyes coming towards him, hair bouncing happily. Tears came to Syo's eyes and he ran towards him only to have his brother fall to ground. His eyes widened and he went to his side, picking him up. "_K_-" He had to stop, when he saw the life drain from his twin's eyes as blood dripped from his mouth. The tears fell and Syo hugged him tightly. "_Kaoru...I'm so sorry...Please don't leave me..."_

"Why'd you kill him, Syo?" A familiar deep voice said and the blond's eyes got wider, looking up. He met a pair of golden eyes, which forced his breathing to pause. He breathed the name, choking on his words.

For once his father scowled and it scared the very depths of Syo's soul seeing the angry expression on his face. His father never looked angry before and he never looked at him with so much hate. "Yeah, Sweetheart? Why did you kill him?" A female voice said and this time his heart stopped. Turning around slowly he saw two red eyes, glaring at him with a smirk.

_"I-I...I didn't_..."

"You shouldn't have been born." His mother said walking by him to his father. She stopped next to him and swiftly backhanded him causing his grip on Kaoru to be released and him to hit the ground that had become dark. He held his face and looked up to her. "You know, I always like Kaoru better. He actually listened. Unlike you. I was more than happy to get away from you."

His father this time stepped in front of Kaoru's body. "Kaoru was selfless and becoming a doctor to save you. Why'd would a child have to waste his life protecting you? Such a problem child. I bet you hated him and killed him out of spite. You probably even got us killed so that you'd be the only one right? How selfish.."

Syo shook his head, crying more. "_No! I didn't hate him! Or you! I love you! I didn't kill you! It wasn't my fault! I didn't want any of you to die! Please, Please..._" His head fell.

"Please what, Syo-Chan?" Syo's rocketed up seeing Kaoru smiling sweetly at him. His breathing became slow and Kaoru then glared. "You are the worst. I hate that we are twins. You left me to die alone! You killed me. You killed all of us! I wish you weren't born first.."

The small singer covered his ears, shaking. "_I didn't kill you! I'm sorry, I couldn't save you...Please.. Please don't leave again! I'm sorry."_

"I think it's too late for sorry, Syo-Chan." Kaoru said looking behind Syo, smirking. "He's all yours, My Prince."

His eyes nearly fell out his sockets looking as his family as they walked away. He stood up, reaching and running after them. "_No! Father! Kaoru! Please don't leave me with him! Don't go, please!_" He shouted and reached an invisible wall, pounding on it and pushing it as they seemed to ignore him. "_Don't leave me! PLEASE! I'm sorry!"_

At that moment, a cold hand grasped his wrist and turned him around, holding the arm above him and shoving him against the wall, moving against him, lifting his chin to meet the same cold gaze. Syo started to shake and his breathing quickened trying to break the hold. The blue-haired ruler smirked, his sharp white teeth showing while Lust was in his eyes. "Ready to play again, Syo?" He whispered, and Syo moved his head away and Ai's other hand went up his shirt and he went to Syo's neck, biting the soft spot, which earned a whimper. "You belong to me now...So you have to be a good boy, okay, Shorty?"

"_No! Stop! I don't want to be yours!"_

"Who said you had a choice?"

* * *

"Cut it out! Please, stop it! Stop it! Please!"

"Syo-kun, relax! You are alright! Everything is okay!" Ringo told the boy, who had tears running down from his eyes, his face and hair wet from sweat and tears, and was flaring around, terrified from his nightmare. Ringo hugged him close and shushed him while he sobbed hard into his uniform. Ringo stroked his hair and by instinct, Syo hugged him back, crying even more. "It's alright...I swear..."

"N-No...It's not alright! It's not...He...he..." He tried to get out but choked up as Ringo shushed him again not letting him go. Syo couldn't say the sentence. "I hate him...I hate him...I hate him more than anything..." He whispered in between a sob.

"Syo, please listen. You must understand-"

"I don't want to understand!" Syo cut him off, shaking his head. "I want my brother...I need Kaoru...but...I'll never see him again..I never got to say goodbye...I miss him so much...It hurts...Please don't make me see that monster again."

The pinkette bit his lip harder. He couldn't keep him safe forever. The prince would have him killed instantly and what would happen to his husband... "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry but I can't stop his highness. I owe him my life...As much as his decision are cruel, I must obey him. Everyone in this castle has to obey him. He controls all of us and we can't change him...He wasn't always like this..and we are hoping that we can change him back..."

"How can you change a monster like him! He was like this when we little! The first time we met, he treated me...like..."

"His Majesty was a once a very nice boy. It's not his fault. He wasn't supposed to take the crown. It was because the death of his father and his cousin that he became like this." Syo sniffed and looked up to Ringo, who was looking down. "The prince had a cousin named Aine, who was adopted by the king and was going to take the crown but then Prince Ai was born. Prince Aine was still going to take the crown but hated how the prince was being treated better than him. In a rage, he tried to take the king's life and become the king so that he could banish the prince forever. He ordered some of the local people with great power to do the deed and get rid of all the people who worked under the king and soon Prince Ai learned all about it.."

Syo blinked, sniffing again. "W-What happened?"

"His highness gathered the youngest workers and hid them in the dungeon where they couldn't be killed. All by himself, at the age of 5, he saved 100 children younger and older than him with help from his best friends Ranmaru, Reiji, and Haru-Chan. The children were saved but most of adults had been killed. I saw the death of my closest friends while I fought to protect the king and his queen but I was knocked unconscious. In the struggle, the king and queen were killed however Prince Aine had been too. It was after that, when the Prince had to start his reign alone, that he became cold. Soon after being declared the next ruler of the kingdom, he started killing all those who opposed him and silenced any who dared speak against him. He became tyrannical and spoiled and never smiled since the incident."

Even Syo looked down sadly at the story he was being told. It was truly sad but that didn't excuse his actions in the least and Syo's hate still remained. "..."

"He saved the lives of many and mine included. That's why we do everything he tell us and obey him. It's why I didn't tell you his true intentions and why I must ask you to forgive me." Ringo said, before looking at him. "Believe me, Syo. Everyone in the castle is depending on you to help us."

"H-Help you?"

He nodded. "Yes...You see, 7 years ago, there was another incident. Because of the prince's attitude towards an enchantress in disguise, the entire castle was cursed along with him. I'm sure you've seen when the prince's anger gets the best of him, he turns into a terrifying beast with crazy strength and terrifying aura until he calms down. Well the curse on the staff was a bit more...cruel. We haven't aged in 7 years and our hearts don't beat and when the sun goes down, we lose all our emotions. Love, Sadness...We can't feel anything. And we servants can't leave the castle grounds to help the prince because if we do, our hearts beats continuously and goes faster until it just gives out. That's what happened to a maid after the curse started..."

The younger couldnt believe it and placed a hand on Ringo's chest and gasped. "N-No...heartbeat..." He whispered. "But..Ringo-San, what can I do.."

"Fall in-" Ringo was cut off by a knock at the door. He turned around. "Come in." The door opened and revealed a tall man with blond hair and dark green eyes wearing a black suit, his expression emotionless. Syo blushed slightly while Ringo smiled. "Ah Hello, Sacchan. It's nice to see you again." He looked at Syo. "Syo-Kun, this is Satsuki Shinomiya. Nacchan's older brother and Haru-Chan's other nephew."

The man looked at Syo with an amused expression. "You must be Syo Kurusu. The Prince's new Idol. I see why...you have such feminine features." Syo glared at him instantly, losing his blush. "Anyway, the guest will be arriving shortly like me so I was asked to send the idol to the King's war room to entertain until everyone arrives." He explained shooting Syo a look. "See you soon, Chibi-Tan." He closed the door before Syo could at him.

He instead puffed his cheeks crossing his arms. "What an asshole..." He muttered.

Ringo chuckled. " A bit but Sacchan is nice after you get to know him. Unlike Haru-Chan and Nacchan, he doesn't work for the Prince and ages normally. He's actually a year old than the prince and believe it or not, Natsuki is actually around your age." Syo's eyes widened and he looked at the ground. "Yeah, I'd be shocked too since he's so small-"

"That's not it..." Syo whispered, his hand going into his shirt, touching the place on his chest where his father's necklace use to hang but was now on the neck of the bunny he made him. "If it's the next day then that means...Today's our.. my..." His eyes began to fill again with water and he quickly wiped his eyes. "I have to get ready. The prince...wouldn't want to be kept waiting...and as much as I hate him..I...I owe to Kaoru...to uphold my end of this crooked deal.."

* * *

_At this place where our heated desires intersect,_

_Our feverish gazes intertwine_

_It's just like a cocktail of emotions_

The people listened as Syo sang and moved to his own imaginary music. Each note hit perfectly and his dancing smooth and flawless. All his singing had the perfect emotion and lovely style. Ringo had dressed him into something simple, a white short-sleeved shirt with a black vest and yellow tie and black dress shorts with a yellow outline on the legs. No hat but his hair was parted out his face and held back with black hair pins.

"He has such a nice voice."

"And he's young too, like my daughter."

"Your majesty, he's such a charming young man."

Ai sat in his throne watching Syo sing the entire time, almost not blinking for a while. He couldn't believe that Syo had actually listened and came out after what happened the night before but something in him was hoping that he was going to show up. It was going to be fun to bother him. "Well naturally since I chose him. I'd like finish this song so the meeting can start. I'm enjoying it."

"Did you know it, My Prince? The song?"

_Drunk off this sweet mood, we're falling head over heels_

_These boring rules we've built up around us will just melt away with the ice_

Ai grinned. "I wrote it."

**I know right? Sooner than my last ones but not close as to when I said. I'll try again next chapter. Anyway, it seems we've learned more about Ai's broken childhoods but will that bring them closer after what happened? With the curse dwindling down thanks to time, will the other help the prince before it's too late? Please Review and Tell me how I did. See you in the next one.**


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